I've always loved that my 4 and a half year old has a great imagination. I've found over perhaps the last 6-12 months however that the majority of his conversations with me and other family members are not based in real life.
He is obsessed with a certain popular cartoon. He insists when I say good morning to him that his name is not X but is in fact the name of the main character from this cartoon. About 80% of his dialogue is repeating word for word lines from the cartoon. I've tried to gently guide him away by focusing on what he might like to eat or if theres anything he's looking forward to today. He either engages for a second and then goes back to his reenactment or gets cross that I've pulled him away from this thing that clearly feels very real in his mind.
I'm concerned this is hindering his speech and general development. Is there a way to work through this? I'm happy to indulge his interests and imagination to an extent but I am concerned that this is cutting off his engagement from the real world.