ABSTRACT
"The organization of perceptual and behavior patterns appears to pass through critical phases during which these patterns are highly plastic and after which they become comparatively rigid. After birth, too, there are critical periods in physical, emotional, and intellectual development. Pregnant women who took the drug during the first seven weeks of gestation were most likely to bear babies with stunted or missing limbs. Babies should have acquired this basic faith in existence by their first birthdays, because the next developmental stage is by that time at hand. It does not wait upon the child's readiness for it; his own physical maturation and the expectations of his culture thrust him into a period of about two years during which he must learn to walk and talk, learn self-control, and develop self-esteem. Babies should have acquired this basic faith in existence by their first birthdays, because the next developmental stage is by that time at hand.
