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My 3.5y/o has an imaginary friend. Well, not that imaginary - it's a TV show character. She recently started watching SuperWhy? on PBS and now is obsessed with SuperWhy - she says he comes out of the TV and goes everywhere with her. Recently the other characters of the same show all "came out of the TV" because SuperWhy was sick :-) an needed to help him.
Would you consider this to be expected behavior for her age? Should I discourage or encourage the imaginary friendship?
Though I am not a parent, I have a little experience with this.
I would go to a lot of family parties with my friend and her little cousin (who was about 5 years old) had not only an imaginary friend, but an imaginary job. She was a painter in Cincinnati. Sometimes she would come up to my friend and say "I saw you at work today" she also had an Imaginary sister. One time she told her bus driver that her sister had missed the bus and she needed to go home.
Its like 2 years later and it's all over. I wouldn't worry. Unless she starts "seeing" things.
My youngest has always had the most amazing imagination... she talks to imaginary people, plays with imaginary pets, etc... We have always made the joke that you need to be invited into her world before interupting her playing. She would get so involved in the stories she was making up and living that she would react badly if someone disrupted it all. She's 10 now, does well in school, gets along well with her peers, is more innocent and childlike than others her age, has an amazing talent for making charcoal drawings (she draws imaginary things), and never complains that she is bored because she always has her imagination to keep her busy. I've always wondered if she developed such an imagination because she was the last of our brood and some years younger than the others, so she was alone with just Mom for the first several years. Where my other kids need electronics to keep their minds occupied, she just needs herself... and I love that! I wouldn't have a worry about it... my daughter played with Dora the Explorer for years without turning out with any mental issues...lol.
I wouldn't even worry if she starts "seeing" things. It's hard to tell the difference between an imaginary friend and "seeing" things. Some children actually do see their imaginary friends. That doesn't mean there is something wrong with them.
My sister had an imaginary friend named "Fairy Godmother" who lived in the vaporizer. It went on for years. She was and is perfectly fine---a full grown adult with a big family.
We didn't discourage it. My parents and we siblings just went along with it. It was cute. I think it would be harmful to discourage it.
The biggest thing to pay attention to is what your child is saying with the imaginary friend. Imaginary friends are a way for children to cope with stress. Paying attention to what feelings and worries are revealed via the imaginary friendship will help you relieve stress in your child's everyday life.
This article provides practical advice on how to keep the imaginary friendship positive influence:
It offers advice such as not letting your child blame everything on the imaginary friend, etc. But it also describes how imaginary friendships are very positive experiences for children.
I wouldn't even worry if she starts "seeing" things. It's hard to tell the difference between an imaginary friend and "seeing" things. Some children actually do see their imaginary friends. That doesn't mean there is something wrong with them.
I meant it more like childhood onset schizophrenia where the children "see" beings which talk to them, but it is more like shadows. This isn't very common tho.
Did I mention I am convinced that my plant is trying to communicate to me? Sometimes he waves his leaf. No I am not crazy
Thank you for your comments. I thought that it would be OK...but in the last few days it's been "superwhy this, superwhy that" and then she tells me the other friends came out of the TV too! Oh, Dear...I thought it may be too much :-)
We deal with this imaginary friend the way we deal with her other toys. Sometimes he tells me some of her toys are hungry or need something...and if I dont have it right away we give them "pretend" food & pretend water. and she's happy with that.
Sounds to me like normal healthy imaginary friendships.
Glad to hear your potted plant is reaching out to you. Maybe it needs watered or wants you to talk to it! I hear many people talk to their plants!
Omg I totally know. But I just wanted to make it clear that that is what I was getting at when I posted the seeing things. Again. SO rare. I wouldn't of even known about it unless I saw it on Oprah that one time. No arguments here that having an imaginary friend is normal. Like I said that little girl I know had an imaginary job, where she was a painter (like a house painter).
And my plant tends to wave after I water it. I think it feels neglected. I also have a haunted printer. It prints randomly when it's not hooked up to the computer. It's so weird. I feel like I live in Toy Story sometimes.
My oldest brother and I both had imaginary friends. Mine was a girl called "Little" and her father, called "Big." My bro and I turned out fine.
A friend's daughter talked to Dobby from Harry Potter for years. She blamed Dobby for things when she got in trouble and he also comforted her in situations.
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I wouldn't have a worry about it... my daughter played with Dora the Explorer for years without turning out with any mental issues...lol.
