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A “developmental interference” can be defined as whatever disturbs the typical unfolding of development. The term may be reserved to describe those situations that involve gross external (environmental) interference with certain needs and rights of the child or situations in which unjustified demands are made of the child. In making such demands the environment frequently does not take into account the child's lack of ego capacity to comply or cope with them. The disturbance thus introduced may sometimes affect development in positive ways but usually affects it in negative ways.
It must be added that many developmental interferences are not meant to happen. They can be described as accidental, as in cases of long separations of mother and child due to prolonged illness or hospitalization of the mother.
In another group of cases the interference is culturally determined and actively imposed on the child by society through its representatives, the mother or other figures in authority. To cite but two examples: early and rigidly imposed toilet training; feeding on a fixed, inflexible timetable of four hours apart, with no regard for individual needs and variations.
The cases referred to so far cover those situations where something is done to the infant or to the child either in an active manner or accidentally by the environment or its