The Interpretation of Dream and Playing: Reality-Building in a Child-Parent Practice (LAEP)

The subject of dream interpretation in children has been, until now, scarcely addressed in psychoanalytic literature. This is due to the fact that children, especially from birth to four years old, do not yet possess the verbal resources to express them. However, if play is considered an “archaic” mode of communication with the same means of representation as dreams (Klein, 1947), one may wonder to what extent it is conceivable to use the method of dream interpretation to interpret children’s play, especially in cases where children do not yet have access to verbal language. In this article, I will highlight the differences and similarities between dreams and play, and then propose a technique for interpreting children’s play adapted from the method of dream interpretation. Drawing from an example of play observed in a child encountered in the clinical setting of a children-parents welcome center [LAEP – Lieu d’Accueil Enfants-Parents], I will subsequently develop this method aimed at guiding the child in the construction of their reality. The analysis of this clinical example reveals a certain “play work,” analogous to dream work, as well as a manifest content specific to the child’s play. Finally, I will present hypotheses regarding the latent content derived from this same play. This method could serve as a tool for clinical work in the field of early childhood.