A lesson on negativism in the toddler. Preceded by some considerations on the teaching of general pediatrics

This study presents observations about certain preliminary conditions necessary for the practicing physician's teaching ambulatory pediatrics. The author's practical experience is cited in the transcription of a lesson about 'negativism in the toddler', and a sensorimotor psychodynamic concept is proposed to explain the child's oppositional behavior: the unusual energy potential at this age, the immediacy of an act, an object concept different from that of the adult. The pediatrician's role as 'health counselor' is evoked in the therapeutic considerations.