This dream is possibly a reference to events that have already occurred, and also to events to come.

In the dream, I was at work.  I was put in charge of a young boy.  I knew it was only for a little bit, not part of my regular duties. He was very young, perhaps three years old. I knew that he constantly misbehaved and this was no exception.  I verbally corrected him twice and redirected him to another activity, but he acted up again a third time.  He was obviously getting out of control, not caring what I thought or what I said, and this was making me angry.  I grabbed his arm and spanked him on his butt three times.  I told him again how he needed to behave and redirected him. This time he behaved.  Thankfully, not long after, another person showed up and took the boy.   They left for his regular classroom and I was free to get back to my work.  I felt badly for having spanked the boy.  Being at a school, I knew I was not allowed to spank a student without the parent’s permission.  I assumed I would be fired.  I went to my boss, the principal, and told him what happened.   He didn’t reassure me, but instead grinned widely and told me, “He’s needed that for a long time!” My boss seemed to think the incident was quite funny.

Significant Symbols:

Work-generally corresponds to one’s present occupation

Three-child’s age may represent a particular situation or experience of the same age in your life

Boy-may represent an idea, a project or a person of about the same age

Misbehavior-my perception of how the idea, project or person is behaving

Spanking-my reaction to the misbehavior.  A more extreme effort to take control of the situation

Boss-one who is in authority

In this dream, I have a situation at work that I am being held responsible for even though it is not part of my normal duties (taking care of a boy I don’t normally take care of at work).  I do my best to keep it under control but it keeps getting out of hand (reprimanding the boy to keep him under control).  I find myself becoming angry and overreacting to regain control (spanking the boy).  Finally, the responsibility is taken from me (someone else takes the boy).  My action works (the boy behaves) but the downside is I might get fired because my actions will probably be considered extreme (spanking when I am not allowed to). Someone who is in authority (the principal) but is not directly involved in the situation becomes aware of what has happened and is secretly pleased (their reaction in the dream is clearly indicative of what they think). The authority figure seems to believe the situation needed to be handled and is glad that it has happened.  But there is still no reassurance I won’t be fired for my actions (no clear outcome as to the consequences of my actions).

The dream is a review of a situation at work I find difficult to handle and finally respond to in a harsh manner.  The dream reviews what has happened so far and then warns of the last event where I will respond harshly. Within just a few days after having this dream,  I had an incident at work where I responded harshly to my Big Boss. My main thought upon reviewing this dream, before the incident occurred, was to maintain control of myself and respond thoughtfully and logically to whatever came my way, because something was obviously going to happen. When the incident finally happened, I tried very hard to maintain control of my frustration and anger and respond as politely and firmly as I could.  At the same time, I put forth the appearance of being helpful and willing to work cooperatively to resolve the problem.  The problem in question was removed from my realm of responsibilities and hopefully will stay removed.  As of now, I do not know what the long-term consequences will be.

The advantage of this type of dream is that I knew something was going to happen in which I would become angry and have a reaction to a situation.  It was a warning.  Being forewarned, I resolved to behave in the best way possible regardless of how I felt or what I thought.  This allowed me to change a possibly disastrous response into a positive and courteous one.  Whatever happens after this, I at least know I behaved and reacted in the best way possible. As you can see, there is no warning of the long-term consequences because those are not important.  What is important is my changing my behavior for the better to achieve a more positive outcome.