Why play?

THE INFANT CONDITION IN FREUD AND THE FORMATION OF THE “SELF”

Abstract

Currently, babies are coming to school earlier and earlier. Therefore, knowing the process of early psychic constitution is important. The construction of the human psyche goes through structuring processes and takes place in intersubjectivity, where the role of the similar becomes priority. There are constituent operations of the subject that can be supported by different protagonists, including the educator in early childhood education, who shares this process with parents. Early childhood education becomes a privileged space for mental training and structuring and the teacher becomes a mental health agent. This article proposes formulations about the times of constitution of the psychic apparatus, marking the effects of playing on the structuring of children's psyche. It uses a hermeneutic stance in working with Sigmund Freud's classic texts, mainly on the Fort Da game, the starting point of symbolic play, make-believe and the initial times of the structuring of the 'Me'.