Does your dc have an imaginary friend?

[MiaWallace]

My dd (age 4) has two imaginary friends that have been dominant features in our lives for the last 18 months.

This has triggered my interest in the role imaginary friends play in children?s lives and I?m considering writing my dissertation on the topic next year.

At the moment I?m just curious how common imaginary friends.

So does your dc have an imaginary friend and if so can you tell me a little bit about them?

The most interesting thing about ds's imaginary country was the language: he told me that you sing words to make them stronger, e.g. if there something is very red, you sing the word for red. I thought that was fascinating.

What a great subject for a dissertation!.

Cory- the singing words and colour sounds a bit like synaesthesia- where words have colours? (I've always done that- with days of the week for instance, and certain names - my Mum does it too. I thought everyone did until I was about 17!) Except with your ds he linked words and sound....

My middle dd had two imaginary friends until she was about 9, which compared to most children is late. She stopped talking publically about them at about 5, but would joke to family about them.
They were sort of half human half a strange but lovely animal. I always put it down to comfort in times of stress at school, or when she wanted something, had done something she wasn't sure about, they became the testing ground.
When she moved school, she stopped talking about them.
(I had an imaginary friend too, until about 4 I think.)

mia - btw, you know you can't use this stuff unless you approach mn towers, don't you? they own all the words lol...

Thanks for the advice madwomanintheattic, I was aware of that though.

I'm just trying to get a feel for the subject and trying to get an idea of any reoccurring themes. I promise not to quote anyone in my dissertation without prior consent

My DD1 had two called Jack and Chatter, they lived in the tree at my mums house. They often came to tea, I think they arrived when she was around 2 and left @ 5. She had another one called Emmie that was with us a short while. She was her constant companion until one day on the way to hospital to meet my new niece I asked where she was and DD1 said she had just been born. My DD1 is 11 and niece is 9 now and she still calls her Emmie as a nickname even though it is nothing like her real name.

another egg to suck?

Great stories. DD (now 2.11) has had an imaginary friend for about 4 months now. She is an only child and her imaginary friend is her sister. She is sometimes older than her and sometimes younger. She was called Abbie, but is now called Mela. She has a range of opinions on matters and sometimes carries out forbidden acts....

I think its very sweet and we don't discourage it - I am also an only child and can remember having one myself at 4/5. Disappeared when I attended school.

Love this thread! DD (now 4.7) had a whole gang of imaginary friends who emerged when she was about 2.5. She was an only child then ( we now have ds) and she loved creating elaborate scenarios for her friends.

The main friend was called Gob, a boy who lived next door with his mum, Autumn. Gob's main feature seemed to be being quite gobby! DD's generally quite law-abiding (unlike ds!) so I always thought Gob allowed dd to express her naughty/cheeky side. (sample conversation dd to me: 'Gob says your dress is yucky').

Gob's not around v much these days - she has more 'real' friends. I kind of miss him.

Also, forgot to say, I also had an imaginary friend as a child. Maybe it's the sort of trait that runs in families?

We have Jackie Rimmy (or Whimmy? slight r/w muddle here) who has been with us for about a year. dd is 3.8.

She's slightly naughtier than dd, and can sometimes be a bit mean to her (when dd is feeling sad about something unrelated).

When dd has been a bit naughty (but in a cheeky way) she says that Pretend Paddy did it. I loove Pretend Paddy - the fact that he has an identity which announces the fact that he doesn't exist always makes me smile.

My Ds does (he is now 8).

When he told me about his IF, I asked what was he called and was firmly told "It's not a he, it's non-gender specific" (a phrase his father had taught him ).

He said he played with 'it' at school when none of the other children wanted to play with DS. He said he mainly justs chats to 'it'.

DS has for as long as he could talk had three imaginary friends... lily, jeremy and brother.

quite spooky actually as lily was what i was going to call DS if he was a girl (i was convinced he was) and i miscarried a boy after DS was born (although i wouldnt have called him jeremy!!!).

he also says that DS used to be my daddy, lily used to be his mummy and brother doesnt have a name because he didnt grow up enough.

My DD1 had an imaginary friend called Lucy. Lucy was a naughty little girl who used to be the cause of anything mischevious or naughty. For example, if she saw a knocked over wall, then DD would say 'Lucy did it'.

I also had an imaginary friend as a child, She was Auntie Beryl... who was a little girl in victorian clothes with a big floppy hat. I still remember what she "looked" like!

I find them fascinating too.

DS has just turned 8 and is an only child.

He has 3 imaginary brothers, Lewis who is 9, James who is 11 and Fon who is 16. He has had them for a couple of years, since starting school - Lewis and James are the names of friends' children of these ages. Don't know where Fon came from.

Occasionally he talks about extra imaginary brothers, sisters, and cousins, and sometimes the imaginary brothers have different parents from him and live in different countries

DS1 has one called Mingie Ding. She is about an inch tall with blue hair, and lives in DS1's pillow case. Mingie Ding has her own imaginary friend called Mong Dong who is a boy and of average size. Mingie Ding will sometimes sneak into Ds1's pocket when we are going out and has to have her own place at the table if we are eating out. She is a little cheeky monkey apparently.

He also used to have one called Winter Boy who wore sunglasses all the time, but he moved to Thailand.

DS (2.7 years) blames everything on a tiny pink dragon.

Thanks again to anyone who has contributed their stories. It has given me lots of ideas to work off. Can't wait to get started

everyone not anyone

I'm really loving reading all these lovely lovely stories Aren't our dc's fab? I think it shows a huge amount of creativity and imagination to concoct all these intricate lives of IF's.

My only concern is that dd quite happily talks about her IF's at school and I can't help thinking soon her classmates wont be quite so accepting of them I would hate for her to be teased about Naney and Stephanie... They are so important to her.

dd (aged 9) has one, named Marla, just occasionally though, i think she got the idea from a friend about a year ago, who had one

im really glad i stumbled upon this thread. DS (2.5) has been talking about 'peter' a boy at nursery for about 2 months. Peter has black hair, and is a big boy, but not a man, and hits DS. The ladies at nursery say 'stop hitting everybody peter'.

Well, i went into nursery and casually asked about peter and his hitting antics, only to be met with 'but we dont have a peter, and never have done'

He has also told me that peter is sometimes at our house, and that grandma (my mum who lives 200miles away) drives peter to and from nursery.

He also told me about two girls at nursery called Maddie and Lottie. I thought - hurray - he's telling me about real children.....oh no, they dont exist either!!!

DS is an only child atm, and only goes to nursery 3 mornings a week. He doesnt really like socialising with other children, and i was a bit sad that his imaginary friend hits him . I never had one, so i think its a bit odd, so im very glad to read all of these stories (and pmsl at 'knife fork and spoon'!!)

An interesting (fiction) book with a very original 'explanation' of imaginary/invisible friends is If you could see me now by Cecelia Ahern.

It is a lovely story that makes you look at IFs differently.

If you could see me now

Just trying to get italics to work properly.

I had several when I was younger. There were a whole colony of ewok type creatures who lived under my Grandparents front porch where I used to play.

DS has a whole imaginary life, not so much one friend though he does have little animals he carries around in his open palm and they are normally very pathetic and whimpering and funny and cheeky. And he pretends himself he is any number of things. He has lots of imaginary objects, like sacks of potatoes etc. His imagination is just shockingly vivid.

ooh, dysgu, i want to know!! give me a hint!!