This research investigated the extent and nature of the informational support that enables young children to understand pictures as symbols. Two experiments were conducted using an object-retrieval task. The first experiment varied the amount (complete and no instructions) and kind of information (intended function of the symbol and picture-referent correspondence) provided to 30-month-old children. The results show that information which emphasizes intentionality was critical for symbolic comprehension. Although information about correspondence was not enough in itself, children came to achieve an insight halfway through the task, probably as a consequence of a comparison process. This study suggests that highlighting the heart of the symbolic relation, its intended function, is a privileged route in children's appreciation of a picture-referent relation. The second experiment shows that by 36 months of age, children figured out, with no instructions at all, the intentional nature of the symbol. (Contains 2 tables.)