What does it mean to dream about child?
A child in a dream often stands for a quality in yourself rather than a literal person, your own younger self, a fresh start, or something new and vulnerable that needs care.
Four ways to read it
Each reading below comes from a named tradition and a cited source, so you can see where it came from and decide what fits your dream.
Freud
Freud would read the child as a return to early life and its wishes, and sometimes as a disguised stand-in for the self at a younger, less guarded age. He paid close attention to the dreamer's own memories of childhood that the figure stirs up.
After Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams (Brill trans., 1913), public domain.Jung
Jung would see the child archetype, the image of new potential and of the future self trying to be born. It can also carry the wounded or neglected parts of you that still need tending.
Jungian concept (our summary).Modern
Continuity ties a child to waking concerns about responsibility, family, or a project you are nurturing. Notice whether you feel protective, overwhelmed, or tender, since that often mirrors a real situation.
Continuity hypothesis (our summary).Mythological
The divine or miraculous child appears across many traditions as a sign of hope and renewal, the small one who carries great promise. The figure usually marks a beginning rather than an ending.
Rosmerta Publishing editorial synthesis (after Bulfinch; Frazer).