Does your 2 year old see ghosts?

[whatwhatinthewhatnow]

I'm not even sure I believe in ghosts, however my Dad died when I was very young and DS has said many times that he can see 'Grandad'.

• He saw a photo of Dad, at someone elses house and shouted 'Hello Grandad!'
• He told me he can see a man on the ceiling (something I am told I used to say) I ask whats his name, he says 'Grandad'
• He said today Grandad was in the corner, eating dinner. I asked what was he eating, he said Beans which was my dads favourite, so I asked the deal breaker, what colour is his hair (Dad was ginger). DS didnt say orange but white.

Whats going on, is this his imagination coupled with titbits of conversation he might have heard? Sometimes I get a bit upset in case he really can see something, other times I just think Wow, that's an active imagination. But how can he have recognised the photo? The only photo I have shown him of Dad is one of him at the same age as DS.

Do your LO's ever say/see these things?

My dd is still too young for any of these things but the people on the spirit/religion board might be able to help under body and soul. Theres often posts like this :-)

I had no idea there was a board for that! Thankyou!

He probably knows Grandands (and Grandmas) have white hair. They often do of course. Plenty of white haired Grandads in books, plus Santa. Not difficult to see why he would think that. Two year olds can only go on what they have seen/experienced already (which isnt very much) so if Grandma has white hair or another childs grandad has white hair, or if he has seen it in a book he will think all Grandads are like that. Our child thinks all mice are kind of flat and still (she has only ever seen one that was killed by a cat in our garden, so to her all mice look like that). They also remember EVERYTHING you have EVER said word for word (so it appears with our 2YO anyway). So if you have ever let slip anything at all about Grandad in converstation to anyone within earshot of your child they will remember what you said.

By the way, many kids have imaginary friends or guardians. I had PignWolf. PignWolf got the blame for anything naughty I did but also told me off! PignWolf was always there eating food at the table with me and playing. He went up to bed with me but looked down at me from the ceiling (kind of watching over me to make sure I aas alright I guess, like a guardian. This is all according to my Mum, as obviously I dont remember. I turned into a fairly normal adult (I think!) so I dont think it's anything to worry about!

I spoke to my DP. He said he thinks DS means MY Grandad sitting in the corner eating his dinner. Who does have white hair. So that explains that one.

The photo thing and seeing men on the ceiling is still freaking me out though, I have to say!

It would freak me out, OP, but then DD has never mentioned her real grandfather (my father) because she has absolutely no concept of him. He died when I was 18. He's not talked about, there are no photos. I would err on the side of some kind of influence, subliminal, even. Their imaginations are endlessly fascinating at this age. DD keeps going on about an Emily. I have no idea who Emily is!

My ds is still too young but my DM tells me when I was about 2/3 I would quite happily natter to all the "people" I "saw" in our house. She think they were more ghostly than imaginary from the descriptions I gave (on the whole my mum doesn't believe in ghosts). I have no memory of this though!

I'm not spiritual as such but do believe that the world is such an amazing place that ghosts must exist. People who strongly believe say that children can see the dead. My mum died when DS was 7 weeks - dd is 15 weeks old and MIL has described her as an 'old soul', someone who's been here before. I have often caught her turning to smile at something, as if someone has worked in the room, and there is no one there. I think she can see my mum. So I wouldn't rule it out. If your DS can see your dad then it won't be a spooky thing anyway, maybe you will be comforted by it?

There have been other instances where I have caught him laughing like someone is tickling him and he would smile and sigh afterwards at an empty space next to him. I think I feel uncomfortable even if it 'is' my Dad's spirit because it would take some stretch to make me believe in spirits!

I suppose I asked in behaviour/development because I wanted to know if other peoples children all do this at around this age and perhaps there might be a logical and developmental explanation such as burgeoning imagination or similar.

I am told that between the ages of 2-3 I often spoke to my Grandfather who passed when I was a very small baby, and would call him by a nickname he went by. I don't remember doing this

This sounds quite normal to me.

My DS who is 2.5 has whole imaginary conversations, games and experiences with his granny. She is alive and well. And in another country.

Last weekend, he told me that granny was playing trains with him (she wasn't there) and wanted the brown engine to use. Later he told off granny for spilling his cereal. And he said that the other day he could see granny out of the car window, when it was impossible and there was no one there. I said where's granny and he said "oh, she's gone!"

I assumed it was imaginative style play where he was forming part of his game as she was on his mind, rather than ghosts.

When he said "Hello Grandad" to the picture, I expect you were present and you had noticed the picture, either consciously or your sub-conscious noticed it. That brought back your emotions and your sub-conscious communicated that to your son, who in turn vocalised it. That's my theory.

I think that we do not know much about the human brain, in particular the sub-conscious, or how how brains link together. Doesn't explain all ghostly happenings but may explain some.

Ghost beans? What, are they dead beans that couldn't move on? Unresolved issues maybe?

Why would a ghost, with no living body to need nourishment, need food??

I wasn't there when he saw the photo. It was at my aunts house who I haven't seen in 10 years, my mum took him. I don't have any photo's of my dad to show him other than the one mentioned, so he hadn't seen an adult photo.

To produce ghost farts. Obviously.

An well, that's blown my theory then.

The Granddad eating beans was a projected moment from the past.

OP my older DD saw ladies in the wall all the time when she was 2. She saw them every summer in fact until she turned 5.

She explained them in minute detail. She was (still is) very articulate and could hold proper conversations at 2...she told me how they looked at her imitating a slow smile and a slight closing of their eyes.

There were 3 of them and they all wore "Pinky brown headscarves" and had brown (tanned?) faces. We live in Cheshire.

Later, we found out our house was built (in the 1990s) on the site of an old workhouse...right where an orchard had been. An old taxi driver from the area told me his Dad remembered his own Mum had been in there and had been sent out to pick apples as part of her work when she was an inmate.

I wonder if they wore pinky brown headscarves?

I do think these were spirits who were peeking at my DD. She wasn't afraid of them. She said they just looked at her and smiled.

Im looking forward to see if my dd mentions anything similar when shes older. Shes only 8 months old now but i hope she does!