Son Dream
A son stands for expectation, for responsibility, for the strength that carries on after you. Seeing him thriving or laughing is a good dream of the household rising and of work finding its footing. Seeing him ill or drifting away does not foretell anything happening to him; it marks worry that has piled up in you. A child you do not know appearing as your son can also mean work or responsibility you are about to take on. The same dream comes to people who have no son, so whether it is a conception dream is judged by your circumstances, not by the dream.
In these dreams you are usually the one standing and watching, while the child is busy doing something. Traditional dream lore read a child appearing in a dream as the direction the family fortune is reaching, and counted it favourably. In practice, though, it pictures work you are raising or a duty you have taken on more often than an actual child.
Readings by Situation
A son thriving or laughing
A good dream of the household rising and of work finding its footing. Old lore read a healthy child straight as fortune extending. Results are about to attach to what you put effort into.
A son ill or injured
Not a warning that anything will happen to him. It signals worry piled up in you, so if he has genuinely looked unwell see a doctor, and if not, look after your own rest.
A son drifting away or leaving
Read as a sign that it is time to let go. It is not a warning of a souring bond but closer to letting him stand on his own. If the ache was strong, that feeling painted the scene.
A child you do not know appearing as your son
It can mean work or responsibility you are about to take on. Old lore also read a child gained as new wealth or new work. If the feeling was glad, read it favourably.
A son dream does not foretell anything about a real child, and it comes with the same meaning to people who have no son. How old the child looked tells you what you have been raising for about that long.