Which is NOT a form of the Child ego state?

• A. Natural Child
• B. Adapted Child
• C. Little Professor
• D. The Critical Parent

Answer: (D)

In transactional analysis, the mind is seen as three ego states: Parent, Adult, and Child. The Child ego state includes patterns from childhood, and its common forms are the Natural Child, who expresses spontaneity and playfulness; the Adapted Child, who follows or rebels against parental expectations; and the Little Professor, a playful internal teacher who quizzes and reasons as a child would. The Critical Parent, by contrast, belongs to the Parent ego state, representing the internalized, evaluative voice learned from authority figures. So the option that is not a form of the Child ego state is the Critical Parent.