Sure, if I look at their kids and think to myself "hey, those might make good husbands/wives for my own kids when they grow up".

Should I take it to be some kind of Freudian slip that you’ve written “myself” rather than “themselves” here?

I'm half senile, and so when you replied I wondered if I did that.

But re-reading it several times now, I don't see it. When I look at their kids and think to myself "hey, they might make good husbands/wives for my own kids" where is the Freudian?

I am on the lookout for my kids. I can't tell them who to marry, but I can put them in circumstances where there are people their age that I approve of, such that familiarity might blossom into something more. I've seen how it turns out with other people's kids when they act like that's none of their business and actively avoid the thinking, and I don't much like the outcomes.

My parents had a lot of ideas about my romantic life too, none of them particularly good or welcome and none of which I listened to. Maybe you'll have better luck.

I'm not the OP, but you realize that implying they were looking at the kids as spouses for themselves is extremely creepy right?

(Not that I agree with what the OP said either - I think most people have a protective instinct towards all children without thinking of them as potential spouses for their own offspring. We see this behavior in other primates too, eg: https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2021/mountain-gorillas-ad... )

I think you've misread me. My point was the guy seemed to be suggesting some general human tendency towards extreme self-interest but then used personal pronouns ("I think to myself"). Not that people are generally seeking child brides. If you look at the position of the word "myself" your interpretation does not really fit.

Sure, but everybody generalizes from one example. Well, at least I do.

No, as can be seen by the other comments in this thread the use of "myself" there is entirely appropriate.

He is using personal pronouns consistently: "myself" and "my children". "Their" children is the other children he is observing, and he is thinking to himself.

Then again given your bizarre reading of my post how much should I really trust your interpretation.

Look up what "Freudian slip" means: https://www.healthline.com/health/freudian-slip#sexual-under...

What you have linked me to is not what it means but an association many people have. It will say so on that very page if you scroll up.

No, not the way it's written.