do u think it is normal for kids to have imaginary friends ?

Question

she's 4 years old and she has two female friends now she says there's another one a little boy, they dont live in the same house,but she is always talking and laughing with them like they are really there.

Answer 1

yea. sometimes real people suck so you have to make imaginary. now if she was older it would be a problem, but at four years old, its ok.

Answer 2

It's completely normal for toddlers to have Imaginary Friends. If anything, say researchers and psychologists, the creation of an imaginary friend is a healthy, adaptive behavior indulged in by about 60 percent of all children younger than 8 and by an unknown number of 9- to 12-year-olds. Three- and 4-year-olds, for instance, may talk about an imaginary friend in such a concrete way that parents discover it's not a real playmate only when they go to day care or preschool and ask to meet the parent. Children who create an imaginary friend at 7 or older typically do so to help them pass a hurdle and may never mention it to parents. With children 2 to 5, it's often a matter of companionship. While parents may worry this is a sign of a loner, Gleason says the opposite tends to be true: ``These are kids who are very social. They like to be with playmates and this is a way to have someone else to play with when no one else is around.''

Answer 3

Hope this helsp a little. I used to have imaginary friends when I was a kid but that was because I was a bit of a loner and had some difficulty relating to others which I am happy to say has dissipated over the years. I think it was a confidence issue and that I was a shy child. I am not saying that your child is the same but is she quite happy go lucky or does she shy away from other kids. I spoke to a child Psychologist friend of mine some years ago about this and he said that it could have been that I just had a very fertile imagination and that the problem relating to others was that even at such a young age I "felt" more intelligent than the others and that what they where doing did not make sense to me. When they wanted to make "mud pies" I wanted to draw or read etc and so felt somewhat detached from them. If you let her carry on and listen to the conversation she has with them it should give you some indication about what is going on. Hope that makes sense and helps a little bit. Sorry if it doesnt.

Answer 4

Honest answer?

Children are so much more in tune with the spirit world than we are. Usually a child's 'imaginary friends' are either spirits, or their guides. Your child is getting to that age where she will start losing this ability. Treasure this time. Children and animals can very often see spirits that we can't. Please don't tell her that she is making up stories, or that they're not real. Your child may have a gift that she is developing. I talk to many teens on a ghost site; they say that they went through this, too, but they can still see spirits and such.

I know this sounds "woo-woo", but I'm dead serious (no pun intended). Try to get as many details from her about her friends; names, what they're wearing, and if you can, without scaring her, ask her if they are alive people or not alive people (4-year old language lol) Write it down or tape record it for future reference. You might be surprised at what she tells you.

Similar story, kind of: There was an American boy about the same age who constantly talked of planes, and flying, and pilots and such. To make a long story short, he told his parents his name, rank, his aircraft number, the names of his squadron buddies, etc. Guess what? IT ALL CHECKED OUT. He had a former life as a WWII fighter pilot. The boy was always fascinated with planes, and even before he could talk he would point out "his" particular style of plane in books. Spooky, eh? I swear to you, this is true; it was on tv. As the boy got older he forgot all about this stuff, but his parents had the good sense to write it all down.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is never "assume" anything about what a child says!

Answer 5

Don't worry, your daughter is not only normal, she's also very creative. Her great imagination is where these wonderful friends come from. Firstborns often have imaginary friends, also really smart kids. It's one way children learn to figure out the difference between good and bad. For example, your little girl might blame her friend for anything she did wrong, saying "Jane" made her spill the milk or pull her books off the shelves. If she does this, take what she said for what its worth and help her clean up, but remind her of your rules. Try not to make a big deal about it when she mentions her buddies. That means neither contradicting her ("Oh, come on, stop pretending!") or grilling her about it, or expanding on it by pretending to meet or talk to her invisible pal. There's no reason to make her feel funny about talking to someone who doesn't exist, but if you go all out and incorporate her friend into your world, then you'll likely have her pal hanging around for a long time. In the meantime, let her enjoy the company of her friends; she'll soon grow out of this common childhood phase.

Answer 6

I think its normal, like your said she is only 4. The problem would come if she was like 14 and still had these imaginary friends. I would not worry to much about it right now, but be careful when she starts blaiming stuff on these friends.

Answer 7

ok one imaginary friend is good two if fine 3 is questionable, but its totally normal and it might be she doesnt spend time with other kids her age and shes trying to tell you something, or she is just not interested in what the other kids are doing and prefers to make up her own friends that do things she likes to do..

Answer 8

Yes it is very normal. It means hes happy. He might actually have friends that you can't see. Didn't you when you were little.? My friend was Mr. Grumpity. He was real to me and lived in a hollowed out tree. My mom put a plastic statue in there and ruined my friend. Let you little guy enjoy his friends, the ones you can see will be there soon enough.

Answer 9

my 4 years old daugter has a cat and a dog for maybe 4 months or more, she brought them anywhere, she speak to them ...
On day, she yelled at me because i almost step on the cat,
she think i'm silly because i can't see them, so 1 day at the store, she asked a lady if SHE ould see the animals, the lady answers yes, so of course, i'm more stupid now. lol
It's very normal, working with kids for a while, having one, having a small sister, like one said, it using their imagination.
it's like playing with barbie or soldiers, do you think they answer the child? no!, so their imaginairy friend is kinda same,
don't worry, it will pass.
once they get the age when other bigger kids will make a comment of it, they'll stop.
good luck
PEACE :-)

Answer 10

I think it's normal in her age. But have to be careful... Must follow, how long she'll have this imaginary friend. Maybe she should go to park more often. if she will meet some other kids, she won't need imaginary friends...

Answer 11

Yes, I did up untill about 11. Just a tall, tall kid wit tourettes. He was more of a joke/the butt of my jokes for my friends.

He started as a "real" imaginary friend, but then as I got smart and wised up to the world, he got his tourettes and became a joke person who is always "Flipping me off when I watch television" . Hahaha... I'm such an idiot.