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"It’s a question of studying parents’use of the words « silliness » and « tantrums » concerning very young children, the meanings of which are sometimes interchangeable ; their use varies from one family to another, but also by professionals. Examples drawn from clinical case studies will illustrate our central hypotheses. Silliness involves positive aspects for the child ; besides the investigative curiosity that it induces, it also means imitation/identification with a parent. The visible action involves a failure linked to the immaturity of the child. The tantrum is more complex, and is often interpreted by the parent as opposition or even a power struggle. For us it is more the manifestation of an internal frustration (the avatars of big/small issues) than the apparent external frustration. It overshadows an underlying distress which paradoxically endangers the hope of being understood."