ABSTRACT
Play is an effective approach to the resolution of problems for children. This chapter describes two play incidents in the life of one particular child. To see the clear and spontaneous expression of a psychic problem in the play of a normal child at home is a vivid experience which may not be rare but is seldom shared. The importance and role of play for the child at home is noted in relatively nontechnical and parent-aimed writing from time to time, as well as in more theoretical and more specialized work. The appearance in play of a submerged problem which then required adult recognition and adult responsiveness to the implied request for help. The chapter relates an incident that seems to present vividly, in a spontaneous play situation, confirmation of dynamic theories of psychosexual development and a child's working through of a psychic problem to an ego-strengthening resolution.
