Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Flip

Original poster

Imaginary friend?

24 replies

Lowryn · 19/08/2004 20:44

DD (3 in November) is either into story telling, or she has the
oddest imaginary friend!
She keeps going on about her "Grandpa". We don't use
this term, it's grandad or papa. However, DD keeps
telling me about the things that her Grandpa does.
Apparently he is red haired, lives in Stowmarket (7
miles away) drives a motorbike, but is a pilot. She
pointed out an aeroplane today and said "My Granpa
flies aeroplanes".
If you ask her about him she always says the same
things. I guess she has either got an over active
imagination, or something spooky.

Anyone else's child tell fanciful tales?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Piffleoffagus · 19/08/2004 20:48

My ds who is now 10, had two little friends called Hum and Rom from about age 2, he would sit and talk loudly to them in the corner of the room, scream if we left them on a bus and not let me close a door if there was no keyhole for them to get through.
He still mentions them from time to time.
I think while it's not usual in kids, it is certainly not anything to worry about! I quite liked it, it showed me his imagination was in tip top shape!

Miaou · 19/08/2004 20:55

My daughter has an imaginary friend, she "got" it just after we moved to Scotland when she was two and a half. She used to talk about her a lot, but doesn't mention her much now - I looked up stuff about it on the internet and came to the conclusion that as long as she did not interact with her imaginary friend at the expense of the "real world" then there is nothing to worry about and it was simply the result of a great imagination! She is now 5 and a half and her story writing in school certainly bears that out!!

Soothepoo · 19/08/2004 21:15

DD has, since she was about two, had two imaginary friends, called, embarrassingly, Bonk the Sheep and Baby Bonk the Sheep. I have NO idea where she got the names from, as I do not use the word bonk and certainly never in the context of sheep . Their antics tend to mirror what is happening in her life, or something that has bothered her (they both had a migraine today, after I had a particularly severe one a couple of weeks ago), but she doesn't refer to them excessively. Other than their names, I think it's quite sweet.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Families General parenting

wellsie · 19/08/2004 21:26

Apparently I had an imaginary friend called Derek who had a motorbike. I would always call him "My Derek" and show parents where he had been with the use of a map. One day he broke his leg never to be heard of again!!
I don't remember ever talking about him and I don't think it has done me any damage having had him in my life.

Linnet · 19/08/2004 21:35

My dd has two imaginary friends, she very imaginatively, or maybe not, calls them "my litle girls" they appeared when she was around 3 and a half. They seemed to disappear when I was pregnant with dd2 but have been mentioned a few times since dd2 arrived.

Like soothepoo's dd they seem to reflect what's going on in her life. For instance shortly after dd2 arrived dd1's "little girls mummy was having a baby tomorrow and it's going to be a girl"
Sometimes they go to stay with their granny like dd1's does or go on trips.

Occasionally dd1 also has a "big sister" who sleeps on the imaginary top bunk bed in dd1's room.

Cadbury · 19/08/2004 21:44

My dd (3) has 4 imaginary frinds, her girls and her boys. Thier names change reegularly and she talks about them and brings them with her everywhaere. They even get strapped in the car.
I had a whole kingdom of imaginary friends whenI was little and one special one called Dr Dooma. It's all too embarrassing to talk about now but I'm told it's perfectly normal and a way of the child working through the things that happen to them and making sense.

Millie1 · 19/08/2004 22:16

Noddy, Big Ears and PC Plod are permanently at our house these days! They sit at the table, play and come out in the car with us. Last week, we were in the post office with me holding DS1's hand (he's 2 3/4) and his other hand was outstretched holding onto the imaginary Noddy ... then he called out to Big Ears and PC Plod to hurry up.

.... Let's just say I wasn't the only one having a giggle!!

scaltygirl · 20/08/2004 12:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

allthegirls · 20/08/2004 12:51

My dd (3 1/2 years old) talks about her other mum!! I must admit at first I was quite upset about the situation and all sorts of things used to go through my mind as to where she got all the stories from but now I think it is just her very active imagination.

She tells me about her other mums cats and dogs (we have dogs but not cats). She even comes up with names for them. She says she has a liitle brother and his name is Isabelle(bit of an odd name for a boy, I must say!) and always talks about her mum coming to pick her up at bed time. Sometimes she asks dd2 if she would like to go and play at her house.

I did used to think she must be talking about a past life she had , but now I have got my over active imagination under control i believe it is just her imagination!

Chandra · 20/08/2004 12:53

Last weekeend I was at Borders and found a book called "THe Worst Case Scenario Guide to Parenting", the serie is really funny but I found a chapter that given the topic of this thread may make you smile:

How to discipline your child's imaginary friend.

If your child blames his friend for something, always reprimand both of them. If the naughtyness of the imaginary friend continues ask your child what can he do to help imaginary friend to improve his behaviour.
If you are going out and find difficult to cope around the shops with "both" children you can always book an imaginary creche/childminder for the friend.

-If the imaginary friend embarrases in front of your visits, tell your child that the friend is going to be allowed in the room as long as he stays quiet sitting in a chair. If he doesn't behave he will need to hide upstairs.

Well there were more but this are the ones I remeber, good luck and enjoy their imagination!

Chandra · 20/08/2004 12:53

How to discipline your child's imaginary friend.

If your child blames his friend for something, always reprimand both of them. If the naughtyness of the imaginary friend continues ask your child what can he do to help imaginary friend to improve his behaviour.
If you are going out and find difficult to cope around the shops with "both" children you can always book an imaginary creche/childminder for the friend.

Well there were more but this are the ones I remeber, good luck and enjoy their imagination!

sweetheart · 20/08/2004 13:05

My dd had what I can only describe as a spirit guide!!

It started with her playing peek-a-boo with him round the bathroom door. My dd was about 2 1/2 at the time and I though she was just imagining someone but things got pretty wierd. She discribed him very clearly as an elderly man and gave an identical and in depth deicribtion each time anyone asked her (unusual for a child so young)

He would never come in the same room as her but when I got spooked by it and closed the door she would get very cross with me and say I had upset the man.

I would often find her just staring into space and when I asked her what she was looking at she would say "the mans out there" ie in the hall way.

My dh is VERY sceptical about these sort of things but even he had to admit there was someone there. Lots of people noticed it without us even montioning it. After a few weeks he went away - I like to think now there was someone looking after her and feel glad

slug · 20/08/2004 13:19

The sluglet has had a couple of friends called "the babbies" for about 6 months now. Recently they have taken on the names of my oldest friend and her 17 year old daughter (who the sluglet worships). I'm always being told to lift them out of bed too, which is quite amusing as the friend's daughter is a hefty 6 footer.

throckenholt · 22/08/2004 20:13

my DS1 has an imaginary friend called noonoo - he invented him at just about 2 ( we thought he must have been watching teletubbies at the childminder). He often talks about going to his house, and he often has just done or is about to do things we have done. DS1 is now 3yrs 1 month.

A 3 year old friend has Mike the T-Rex who is brilliant at everyhthing and intensely irritating to his mum !!

malinki · 24/08/2004 11:39

My DD aged now 4 has a friend called Mikey and when DH and I were in the lounge a couple of months ago, DH stood on Mikey by mistake and DD actually cried, when I spoke to the health visitor about this, she told us it was normal, she is showing her emmotions and imagination, there is a mikey at DD nursery, but he comes in the car, he sleeps in her room, but it is freaky, as the health visitor said she would grow out of it and as if by magic Mikey has been laid to rest, but it is strange, when you take DD shopping and she is sat in the trolley and I put my handbag beside her, I'm then scolded for squashing poor mikey, I'm told off for sitting on him at the table, it is very amusing, especially when we were going to Gloucester last year and we arrived at my friends house after the 2.5 hour journey, to be told (infront of my friend) that i had trapped poor mikey in the door, my friend just looked at me in horror at the thought that I had trapped a little boy in the car, then you look even sillier opening the door to let the invisible child out, any on lookers, well I dread to think what they will have thought, just wait until DD is 13 and in love with a film star,

Twinkie · 24/08/2004 11:42

DD is 4 too and has a couple of imaginary friends - one is totally imaginary and one is a boy she knows who she pretends to play with when he is not there - IYSWIM??

Mind you she can have imaginary horses, babies and all types of things - doesn't bother me much until you are standing in the queue in Waitrose and she pulls her top up to feed her new imaginary baby or when she refuses to get in the shower until 'Micheal' has had hs shower and you are waiting to get in yourself covered in sand and terribly itchy!!!! (Mind you DP had told her to go and play with Michael so we could get 5 minutes peace!!) DP lost it lately after spending 5 hours with DD and her imaginary horse!!

Matonic · 24/08/2004 12:04

Ds had 'our little sister' a few months ago, and now has 'my little brother', called Magnus - don't know where the name Magnus comes from. Lots of his friends are acquiring real new brothers and sisters just now (he's 2.5) and I guess he just wants to be part of the crowd.

He will also assure me quite straight-faced that someone at nursery has been carried away by an eagle while they were playing in the garden, or that a wolf came into the room but he chased it away with a stick.

Some months ago he told me that one of his nursery friends had chicken pox, so when I next saw the child's mother, I commiserated and asked how her dd was. Mother was much astonished, since dd was completely fine, and had never had chicken pox at all.

Just developing an active imagination, I reckon.

twick · 24/08/2004 12:27

Dd is only 22 months but already has one which is her two fingers 'walking', and which she calls 'twick' (thus my name here!) I remember having a few as a child. I think it's a sign of an active imagination. But I remember seeing a spooky drama on t.v. a year or two ago in which an 'imaginery friend' turned out to have been someone a child had been in a past life. Do you think something like that's maybe playing on your mind?

JanH · 24/08/2004 15:52

It generally seems to be first children who have imaginary friends...dd1 had a bunch of them (Gribby and his friends) and they went away after dd2 arrived. I know some do stay longer, and it's not just first children, but still they do it the most.

Chandra, I love the instructions for dealing with them!

Aero · 24/08/2004 16:21

Yes - dd has one too - though he doesn't seem very nice. She's four now and mentions 'him' less, but if anything goes wrong, you can bet your bottom dollar that 'Ansa' knows something about it!! (My mum tells me mine was called 'An-jetter' - what's that all about? I have no recollection of her/him(?) whatsoever!!!!)

TraceyP · 28/08/2004 20:11

My three year old dd has an imaginary Edie McCredie (of all things) who often has to travel with us in the car. It has caused some problems when Edie got locked in the car - and it was even worse when Daddy sat on Edie who was driving the car at the time.

Twiglett · 28/08/2004 20:16

message withdrawn

Polgara2 · 28/08/2004 21:19

My 4 year old has had her 'other' family for well over a year. She frequently informs me that her other Mum can do lots of wonderful things or that she's done something before at her other house

Tommy · 28/08/2004 21:27

Thank God for you lot! DS2 (2y7m) has just started talking about "Honey" who he says is his friend. When I asked him where he knew him/her from he didn't know but when I asked specific questions he certainly had the answers! (e.g. Does Honey go to our church?" "No, another church" etc etc Very bizzare - I thiugh this would come later but it seems that Honey is here to stay for a while! I'm so glad he's not the only one

Flip

Swipe left for the next trending thread