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Despite its focus on child analysis this paper has much interest and relevance for adult analysis. Although somewhat loosely organized, it is a rich and comprehensive consideration of the dynamic interplay between child, parents, and analyst during initiation of treatment. Pre-existing attitudes are the main focus. Most children approach treatment with negative attitudes and already formed fantasies about treatment and analyst. Thus many pretransference and early transference positions that often shed light on observing ego capacities can be anticipated. The child's fantasies of the impending relationship are influenced not only by intrapsychic and developmental factors, but by the parents' and analyst's ideas about their relationship with one another vis-à-vis the child. Conscious and unconscious parental anticipations are discussed, as are those of the analyst toward the parents. (Although not considered in this paper, parallels to the situation of the adult analyst's countertransference to the unseen parents of his patients are thought provoking.) A thoughtful discussion of the accompanying problems in confidentiality in this tripartite situation is included.