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Original poster

tell me about imaginary friends in a 2 yr old - something to worry about?

28 replies

totalmisfit · 26/06/2008 12:48

dd has just started on about 'johnny' who is either 'very tiny' or 'very big'. apparently she's taking him to the fair, and he lives in our house, that's all i can work out so far

anyone else's dc have one of these?

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Piffle · 26/06/2008 12:51

we loved hum and rom who were ds1s friends. Even at age 14 now we still giggle about their exploits.
love the friend at worst its fun and shows imagination at best its a coping strategy which comforts them.

Dd is 5 and her aunties give her the answers in maths apparently!

edam · 26/06/2008 12:52

aw, bless. Ds used to have an imaginary brother called Daniel. I had to put out breakfast for him - when we got home, ds would eat it 'because Daniel didn't want it' but woe betide me if I tried to clear it away before we left!

Original poster
totalmisfit · 26/06/2008 13:00

thanks Piffle - wasn't sure if it was something i was supposed to discourage or encourage tbh..

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Piffle · 26/06/2008 13:03

dont discourage please. I remember leaping back onto a moving bus through closing doors as ds1 left hum on the seat....
memories are priceless!

Original poster
totalmisfit · 26/06/2008 13:03

edam - a very cunning way to get a second breakfast me thinks!

i just hope its not because she hasn't really made any proper friends so far - i'm feeling quite inadequate about it.

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madamez · 26/06/2008 13:04

My DS has Jessica who is very small, a crab called Nacky Nacky Nacky and now we have acquired Noo Noo who is Nacky Nacky Nacky's mum, apparently.
Is your DD an only child? Because it's usually only children who have them, and I am not sure (in DS case) whether he believes in his or just likes to pretend they are there.
It's totally harmless BTW unless it begins to cause your DD some distress in which case it might be a sign that something else is upsetting her.

Original poster
totalmisfit · 26/06/2008 13:05

she just said 'i love johnny sooo much' and did this little cuddling action. so cute, so why do i feel so melancholy about it?

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Original poster
totalmisfit · 26/06/2008 13:08

madamez - yep she's an only child - so far. I really want to have another - probably towards the end of next year. We're moving soon, so don't want to get pg until we're fully settled...

OP posts:
cory · 26/06/2008 13:14

nothing to worry about, happy social children have them just as much as, it's a sign of a good imagination, not of loneliness

Oh, I do miss those times....

Original poster
totalmisfit · 26/06/2008 13:20

she is happy and very sociable. i'm just crap at forming relationships with other mums so she doesn't have the close friendships other kids her age seem to have already.

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AttillaTheHan · 26/06/2008 13:34

My ds (4) has an 'uncle' and a 'grandma' who live in the sky and tell him things and more recently he has Jack who lives on his back. We had dd 9 weeks ago and presume they are a coping strategy that he is using. i find it very funny mostly but a bit odd at times when he says stuff like 'uncle lets me wear special trousers and jump in his bed at his house in the sky'...

Original poster
totalmisfit · 26/06/2008 13:42

jack who lives on his back, isn't that a Manfred Mann song?

OP posts:
edam · 26/06/2008 13:51

You could be right, misfit!

Not sure it's more common among only children - have never heard that one before. Might be interesting to start a thread asking that question...

kbaby · 26/06/2008 13:51

DD had a friend called casey. At first we assumed it was a friend she had made at nursery until I sent her a Christmas card only to find out she didnt exist [shy]she played with her quite a lot until last yera when aged 3.5 she started preschool and now we dont here so much about her. Now we get made up stories about her real friends in school ie I went to watch a film with xyz yesterday.

Dont worry too much about it. Its just a phase and shows imagination. DD had lots of friends at nursery but casey was still her best friend so it doesnt mean that your DD is lonely on the contary she is learning how to play with others and take turns etc even if it is with an imaginary friend.

Kammy · 26/06/2008 20:16

My ds had 2 imaginary friends called Ben and Ridlett. They 'moved in' with us one day and for some time had to eat with us and have beds made up in ds's room. One day he asked me to open the door and when I asked why was told they were moving out. Just like that!
Looking back now I think it was rather sweet. Even now, age 6 ds has many cuddly animals who he makes up stories about - what school they go to, who their friends are, what they like to play, what they did that day.

Travellerintime · 26/06/2008 20:31

My dd (3.5) has a whole gang of imaginary friends who started to appear last summer. Chief among them is Gob, a little boy of the same age, his mum Summer and his little brother/sister, Biddy. Gob is quite gobby actually - I think dd expresses her naughty side through him because she often tells me the naughty things he does, which she of course would never do!
I think at 2 it's too early to form really close friendships, so don't worry if you think she hasn't 'proper' friends yet.

myfeethurt · 26/06/2008 20:45

jack on his back is making me giggle

OhYouBadBadKitten · 26/06/2008 20:58

I miss dds imaginary friends - she had Ben the Ghost who was small and lived in her pocket.
also went though a phase of taking ratchet and Clank (one of my playstation games ) everywhere. We would push them on the swings and give them their own seat at the table

/wistful sigh

hunkermunker · 26/06/2008 21:01

DS2 has an imaginary red crab who lives on his bedroom ceiling and scares him.

Bloody convincing he is too - I found myself looking at the ceiling tonight as I put him to bed...!

He also has a big spider who lives on his wall who he chats to merrily in the morning.

hunkermunker · 26/06/2008 21:02

LOL Madamez - hadn't seen your DS's crab when I posted re mine!

Orinoco · 26/06/2008 21:09

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Hulababy · 26/06/2008 21:12

DD has imaginery frends when she was this age. The first one, a boy called Cotcha, arrived when she was under 2yo, thn followed his female friend Bella, who I believe was older than Bella although both of their ages varied a lot.

DD was very aware that they were not real, but they were around for quite a while. They finally stopped being mentioned after DD started shool, gradually around less and less, and now in Y1 not been around at all for ages.

She still remembers having them as her friends though I kid of miss them!

Hulababy · 26/06/2008 21:12

DD has imaginery frends when she was this age. The first one, a boy called Cotcha, arrived when she was under 2yo, thn followed his female friend Bella, who I believe was older than Bella although both of their ages varied a lot.

DD was very aware that they were not real, but they were around for quite a while. They finally stopped being mentioned after DD started shool, gradually around less and less, and now in Y1 not been around at all for ages.

She still remembers having them as her friends though I kid of miss them!

lostinfrance · 26/06/2008 21:18

This reply has been deleted

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squeaver · 26/06/2008 21:21

My dd (3) has a whole host of characters who come and go and sometimes have arguments amongst themselves. It's exhausting keeping up.

She also has lots of friends in RL, btw