"Spin your wheels" is a common phrase conveying that you're not progressing and are caught in a frustrating situation. And older child or a teenager may dream that they're driving a car when all of a sudden the roads turn to mud and they can't move anymore. In real life, when we're stuck in the mud, we try to get out by accelerating but the wheels just keep spinning. This action and lack of action is full of meaning in a dream. In essence, the dreamer probably feels like he's encountered an obstacle in life or he may feel trapped in an undesirable situation.

Consider how you feel when you're lost in real life. You may feel confused and desperate to find your way. You could even feel scared. Likewise, these are the range of helpless emotions a child's expresses in a dream about being lost. Some common settings for this dream are cities, the countryside, a forest, the jungle, or the desert--whatever environment is atypical for the child and perceived as strange. Dreams about being lost can also be set in familiar environments that look abnormal. No matter the setting, the various elements of the dreamscape are meaningful. For instance, in a jungle dreamscape, snakes could be hanging from trees and snakes could be crawling around. In addition, instead of being lost herself, the child may be searching for something she is missing in these types of dreams. The lighting could also be dark, even pitch black, signifying that's it's hard to see what to do. What the child does in these dreams and whether she perseveres and is able to find what's lost or is able to get to a safe destination is also significant, as is whether or not she gives up the search, thereby losing hope.

A street--whether it's unfamiliar or familiar but unusual looking--could be one of the many settings for being lost or searching for something that is missing in a dream. Consider how you feel when you're lost in real life. You may feel confused and desperate to find your way. You could even feel scared. Likewise, these are the range of helpless emotions a child's expresses in a dream about being lost. The lighting in this dreamscape could also be dark, even pitch black, signifying that's it's hard to see what to do. What the child does in these dreams and whether she perseveres and is able to find what's lost or is able to get to a safe destination is also significant, as is whether or not she gives up, thereby losing hope.