Final answer:
Children enter the latency period of psychosexual development as they gain control over their impulses. During this time, they control their impulses as they learn social skills, build friendships, and focus on academics, with sexual feelings being dormant. Over-controlling parenting can stifle a child's initiative by hampering their independence.
Step-by-step explanation:
As children gain control over their impulses they move into the latency period of psychosexual development, where needs, interests, and wishes become primary and impulses can now be controlled. During this time, which follows the phallic stage and occurs from around 6 years to puberty, sexual feelings are dormant as children invest their energies into developing social skills, making friends, and acquiring new knowledge through school and other activities.
In the context of Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, this phase of gaining impulse control corresponds to the initiative versus guilt stage, which occurs during the preschool years (ages 3-6 years). Erikson posited that mastery of this stage leads to the development of self-confidence and a sense of purpose, whereas failure could result in feelings of guilt.
To answer the question related to over-controlling parents, such behavior could potentially stifle a child's initiative by discouraging independent activity and decision-making, leading the child to feel guilt for their desires to explore and assert themselves. This can impede the child's development of self-initiation and confidence, which are crucial at this stage.