General Chat

Do you think its harmful to play along or should it be ignored my son NOW 33 had Peter
and he used to pretend Peter had to eat with us
and if he did something wrong Peter told him to do it
he soon lost him when he went to school

IS THIS COMMON

Some kids pretend to have imaginary friends if they dont have brothers or sisters or like a comfort like some children use a blanket.
I dont see any harm in it.

My son had an imaginary Peter as well. We used to have to set the table for him and make room for him in the car when we went on holiday, which was difficult.

I had imaginary friends as well so it never bothered me. Peter disappeared sometime during his second year at school.

Gwynne

hello thorney
he was not an only child but was the eldest


peter arrived after his baby sister


hello Gwynne
we did those thing to
i wonder if its the same peter lol
i we did have some funny times we still laugh about it he

Hi Joy
It might have been due to his little sister,he might have felt a bit pushed out,but it doesnt hurt in fact I think it helps them.

I don't think it's uncommon to have an imaginary friend...and like Thorney said, it often happens with only children or during unsettled times. I had one myself when I was little..and I was on only child (at the time lol), but soon grew out of it.

I think it is a normal element of a child's development.

my health visitor said only bright kids have them
and it helps with their development

ie imaginary play

its weired cause my sister di then her son went on too have one we just went along with it luckily the imaginary friends were never naughty ones lol xx

i did find it sometimes worked to our benfit
Peters dinner was always gobbles down first
when we were not looking

and if i asked Chris to clean his toys up
it was a struggle to get it done

but ask Peter to do it and it was like magic No fuss

lol must tell me mum what she could have done lol xx

I have 3 (now adult ) children. The youngest is 6 years younger than the middle one, so she was at home when the others were in school.
Only the youngest had an imaginary friend, well 2 actually, when she was about 3.

They were no trouble at all and didn't need any requirements or special attention day to day, but one, Elizabeth had an over indulgent mother I suspect.
If I asked the children to play quietly so I could hear the 6 o'clock evening news, I was told that Elizabeth's mother let her sing when the news was on and she never moaned. She was said to allow honey and meat paste in the same sandwich too, if Elizabeth wanted that !

No-No was the other friend who was talked about...Her father was a dentist in Hong Kong or sometimes a King. No-No travelled on the parcel shelf if we went out in the car. I think this was a bit of rebelliousness because we were insistant on seat belts.

The 'friends' gradually faded from conversation and were gone by the time youngest started school.



Gwyn

My daughter - who is my eldest - had an imaginary friend when she was about 3 and her little brother arrived. It only lasted a few months and I was never worried because her friend - called Puppy - never caused any trouble.

S x

My son was the youngest and when he was about 3 Coco the clown came to live with us. He was a bit of a nuisance as he was always on the stairs when I went up and I had to go up sideways! Likewise when sitting on settee had to be careful in case Coco got crushed, and although he had a plate and cutlery at the table - thank goodness he did not demand real food. He gradually went away after about a year.

its been really good hearing about the other imaginary friends

Laddo had one he was called Douglas (after thomas tank engine i think) and if anything wrong happened was always douglas who has done it.

He had Douglas through a lot of primary school and he was there before tiddler came along and after she was here.
Never had to lay table for him though just had to watch where i trod incase i hurt him.
Maybe he had him for so long because of his learning problems and that was his safety net.

Tiddler had a quick phase of having one but cant rememebr a name.

Dont think it does any harm if you just go with it if you make a big meal of it think they would probably last longer.

My children didn't have imaginary friends ,but I did.His name was Jesus lol.I would sit outside on the back steps and we would have tea parties,and I always remember my Mum saying how she used to be embarrassed when on the bus I had to make sure Jesus sat next to me !I have no idea why I chose Jesus.

LOL Jane - my grand daughter has a rabbit, purchased at Easter - she's called him Jesus!!
Daughter insists it's pronounced Haysoos, to lessen the ebarrassment when he escapes!!!

Both my (now adult) children - two and a half years between them - had imaginary friends - and both were called Patrick! However they had different 'histories'. My eldest rarely spoke of her 'Patrick', but used to read to him. He wasn't around for long, and no problem.
Youngest really 'milked' her 'Patrick'. He was apparently a sweep who lived with his grandfather, but had died when he was 7. (Ghost or imaginary friend?)
Anything that shouldn't have been done was done by 'Patrick'. It was 'Patrick' who ate the cakes etc. I usually responded that 'Patrick' was a naughty boy, and should have better manners.
However, when 'Patrick' scribbled all over a wall, youngest was told that, as her friend, in my house, she was responsible for what he did, and if he continued to misbehave he wouldn't be welcome!

Kitty how wonderful xx