Sleeping A child in dreams
Your younger self — the part of you that is still small and learning.
How sleeping changes the reading
The base reading of A child
A child in a dream is the dictionary's image of your younger self — the part of you that is still small, still learning, sometimes still hurt. The reading depends on the child's age and how they appear: a happy child is the dream noting that the younger part of you is okay; a crying child is the dictionary's image of an old hurt asking for attention.
Where you often see it. A child playing alone. A child looking up at you. A child you recognise as a younger version of yourself. The dream uses the child for the part of you that is still small, still learning, sometimes still hurt.
What it is not. The dream's child is not necessarily a literal child in your life. It is the part of you the rest of life has been moving past.
Related in the dictionary. Read child with house (its rooms), school, and any scene where care or its absence is at issue.