This study aimed to investigate how family was presented during the games played by children living in an institution under the responsibility of the State. Ten children between five and eight years old took part in the investigation. There were three boys and seven girls. Through observation, several free playing episodes related to fancying a home were analyzed, in a playroom at Febem in São Paulo. The data analysis indicated that even under the circumstances of living outside home, those children presented a family based on the nuclear model.
play; child; family; institutionalization
