Parent dreams are much more related to family and more related to romantic partners than dreams in general. They are less related to animals, less related to insects, and less related to unnamed people.

Parent dreams are more related to happiness, more related to sadness, and more related to grief and sorrow than dreams in general. They are less related to fun.

Dreams of parents are much more related to home and more related to transportation than dreams in general. They are less related to natural places and less related to magical places.

Parent dreams are more related to death and more related to health events than dreams in general. They are less related to disasters.

Dreams of parents are more related to nightmares, more related to bad dreams, and more related to sad dreams than dreams in general. They are less related to lucid dreams and less related to good dreams.

Dreams of parents are less related to smelling and less related to taste.

You can gain insight from thinking about any dream, no matter how strange. Only you, as the dreamer, have final say on what your dream may or may not mean. Each dream is unique.

The DreamWell dictionary provides information on how each dream symbol appears in dreams in general. Finding how experience parents in dreams can be a key to understanding its meaning.

Our emotions in dreams can help us understand its meaning. Pay attention to how you felt in the dream. Pay attention to how you feel about parents in dreams. See how you feel about parents now, in your waking life.

This interpretation is from ""The Dream Interpretation Dictionary: Symbols, Signs, and Meanings" and is provided by J.M. DeBord aka "RadOwl". He is the author of several acclaimed books about dreaming, the host of The Dreams That Shape Us podcast, and is a moderator of r/Dreams, one of the largest dream sharing communities on the internet. The dynamics of your relationship with your parents and what they mean to you open up many possibilities for symbolism. People commonly assume that their parents in their dreams represent their actual parents, when they’re actually characters in a story based on the dreamer’s associations and common associations with parents. The first clue is in the fact that they appear together in a dream, instead of separately. It’s a clue that the symbolism might be tied to what parents represent: authority, protection, restriction, expectations, guidance. Parents together can symbolize anything they’re in agreement or “of the same mind” about. Of course, the symbolism depends on your experience and perceptions. If your parents are not protective or restrictive, for example, then they’re unlikely to symbolize protection or restriction—unless they are used to symbolize lack of it, or need for it. A lot depends on whether your parents are actively part of your life and whether they’ve been on your mind. If yes, you have to consider that their presence in your dream reflects your recent activity or thoughts. The dream is about a recent event in your life and your parents’ involvement. Otherwise, it’s safe to assume that your parents are in the dream because of what they represent to you. Things get interesting when your parents act out of character. Discrepancies with reality scream, “This is symbolism!” They’re characters following a script in a story. For example, you dream that your hands-off parents tell you that you absolutely cannot marry your boyfriend. It’s something they’d never actually do, so you look at it as symbolism. Perhaps you’re trying to tell yourself something and the dream uses your parents to deliver the message because you’re more likely to listen. Your parents are your primary example of parenthood, probably. If you’re a parent, you will draw on your examples to guide you in what to do and what not to do. In which case, your dreams can use parent-characters to tell a story about your own experience as a parent. Again, though, it depends on your experience and perceptions. Maybe your parents are a better example of how not to be a parent. Stretch the idea further and your parents can be used in your dreams to tell stories about growing into adulthood and beyond. They are your example, and they shape your ideas about the adult you want to be, even long after you’re an adult yourself. Parents dictate behavior for their children. They set rules and expectations. As a child, how did you respond? Did you behave as expected? Did you follow the rules, or defy them? Did you try your hardest to meet expectations, or not give a care? Did you act like an angel when they were watching, and let the little devil in you come out when their backs were turned? These patterns that start in childhood can carry into adulthood. For example, if you find yourself defying a supervisor or undermining authority figures, does it remind you of your relationship with your parents? Do you work hard while being watched, and slack off when you think no one is watching? How do your parents view you at this point in your life—are they, or would they be, proud? Are you living your life in a way that reflects them, the example they set, and what they taught you? Did something come up the day before the dream that reminded you of them? Are you being treated like a child? These are the questions that can help you understand their role in a dream-story. Grandparents in your dreams can be surrogate characters for your parents. When grandparents are used as surrogate characters, the dream could be related to your parents as role models. Grandparents act as role models for your parents, so it is an easy association for dreams to make. Dreaming about parent-characters that are not your parents is a clue that the dream could be about the general symbolism of parents and parenting. Also consider the possibility that the unfamiliar parent-characters can symbolize people in your life who are in some way like parents to you. See also: Bosses, Children, Childhood homes, Family, Family homes, Fathers, Grandfathers, Grandmothers, Guiding, Mothers, Orphans