On the Coast – Families Issue 95 I August/September 2018 | Page 28

Should I worry
about my child’s
imaginary
friend?
by Lindie Nell
D
o you remember the shock of
your son’s outburst the first
time you stepped on his imaginary
friend’s toes? Or maybe your
daughter had a complete
meltdown when you closed the car
door before her imaginary friend
could jump in?
Imaginary friends in children
Imaginary friends (also known as
invisible or pretend friends) normally
feature between the ages of 3-6 but can
be common beyond these ages. Research
suggests that 65% of children have had
an imaginary friend at some point in
their lives.
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KIDZ O N T H E C OA S T
To understand imaginary friends a
little bit better it may help to explore the
following concepts. Personification is
when your child gives human qualities
or abilities to an object or animal. This
may be observed when children engage
in Pretend or Fantasy play with their
dolls or stuffed toys and act as if they
are alive.  Fantasy play can also involve
playing pretend games with invisible
people. A child pretending, she is
teaching a class or is drinking tea with
the Queen is normal and important for
practicing their social skills. Having an
imaginary friend is part of a deeper or
more advanced form of pretend play and
can be anything from a known person, a
story character, a makeup creature, a toy
and even a talking vegetable.
Why children have imaginary friends?
Some parents are comfortable about
pretend play but may have concerns
about their child’s imaginary friend.
However, most of the time this is a normal
part of childhood development. Children
who are sociable and imaginative or are
the oldest or only child in a family tend to
have imaginary friends more so than
other children. These children can be
wonderful story tellers and tend to have a
better understanding of another person’s
perspective. This ability to stand in the
shoes of another person leads to the