There was a girl in our kindergarten. In the course of casual conversation, the topic of dreams came up. The girl said, “You know, I often dream of a witch. And then I get really scared.”
 “Ah, maybe it’s the witches from those fairy tales you read,” someone suggested. “What does your witch look like?”
 The girl paused for a moment and then said, “You know, the witch in my dream looks a little bit like my mother.”

Many children probably have such dreams. Many may wake up from the dream, drenched in sweat. In some of their dreams, the witch may resemble their schoolteacher. Some children may dream of demons, whose faces may resemble their fathers or teachers. In the minds of children, symbols such as kings, soldiers, tigers, or demons often relate to their fathers or teachers. These are all frightening figures, and they represent authority and power.

How unfortunate it is that, in the lives of our children, we adults hold the position of a witch or a demon! Children naturally experience many kinds of fears — both real and imagined. They often fear things they need not fear at all — for example, something or someone new, something very large, or something that looks a bit unusual. Similarly, they are afraid of the dark. In such situations, they look to us for protection and reassurance. Our role in their lives to protect them from these fears. But when, through our own behaviour, we become one of the very things they fear — how helpless they must feel! Instead of being pillars of support in their lives, we appear to them as grave threats. When this happens, to whom should they turn for comfort or protection?

It is likely that many children wish, even if unknowingly, for the death of their teachers or parents. Of course, they will not say outright, “Let my parents die.” But this wish sometimes manifests unconsciously. This does not mean they are wicked. Their wish for the death of a parent or teacher does not stem from a real desire for their death. Rather, they simply wish for this major source of distress in their lives to disappear.

If teachers and parents were to listen to and examine the dreams that children share freely and openly, they would realize how much fear and distress they themselves cause in the lives of children. They would see how helpless and powerless children become out of fear. We ruthlessly crush their tender, emerging hopes and aspirations. The pressures we impose on their minds hinder their ability to grow and develop fully, giving rise to psychological disturbances. It is we who instill in them feelings such as: “I have no ability,” “I can’t manage anything,” “I don’t know how to do this,” “I’m stupid,” “I’m dull,” “I’m useless.” And eventually, they begin to believe these things and become truly useless in their own eyes.

When such fear and a sense of inferiority take root in young, impressionable minds, they grow up to be incapable of taking responsibility for their own lives. These two — fear complex and inferiority complex — become deeply ingrained within them. And the elders in their lives constantly cause them to deepen, by threatening them and belittling them with remarks like, “You’re stupid,” or “You don’t understand anything.”

Once these two conditions take hold, a person’s capacity for action is diminished. They lose the courage and will to face challenges and push through difficulties. As a result, they lag behind in the race of life. They retreat to some corner, sorrowful and broken. Truly, these complexes drain the strength of the mind, just like an illness weakens the body. The sooner we realize the gravity of this, the better.

It is essential that both parents and teachers carefully examine every word they speak and every action they take. We must take great care not to become the witch or the demon in our children’s dreams.

(Originally published in Marathi – स्वप्नातील डाकीण – in Shikshan Patrika, Year 1, Issue 9, February 1934)