Subject: Imaginary friends.
Posted by: gillimalta
Date: Jul 15 10
Did you ever have an imaginary friend - someone who you confided in, played happily with or just blamed for naughtiness?
My son has an imaginary (sorry, invisible!) dog called Mr. Yoke who eats chocolate biscuits at 7am and has to be included in all aspects of family life...he's really hard work!
I'm not sure whether to discourage my son or not - it's quite sweet to watch them 'together'!
Posted by: gillimalta
Date: Jul 15 10
Did you ever have an imaginary friend - someone who you confided in, played happily with or just blamed for naughtiness?
My son has an imaginary (sorry, invisible!) dog called Mr. Yoke who eats chocolate biscuits at 7am and has to be included in all aspects of family life...he's really hard work!
I'm not sure whether to discourage my son or not - it's quite sweet to watch them 'together'!
20 replies. On page 1 of 1 pages. 1
skyrunner84 
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When I was a kid, I never had an imaginary friend, but I did have a stuffed bunny that I used to talk to. Now 20+ years later i still have it. I still even talk to it sometimes. Reply #1. Jul 15 10, 1:53 AM |
romeomikegolf
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Gilli, I don't think there's any harm in your son having an invisible dog. I think it shows he has imagination, so why not encourage it a little while he's still young, he'll grow out of it one day. Perhaps he wants a real dog to play with.Does he have any friends close by to play with? Try teaching him how to look after his 'dog'. Begin by telling him that chocolate is poisonous to dogs and he shouldn't let his little friend eat them. Lots of kids make up imaginary friends they can blame for the naughty things that happen, they think that if their 'friend' did it they won't get into trouble for it. Dealing with this is all part of being a parent. We all have to find a way of handling it. What works for one may not work for another. Does he still want to be a tractor when he grows up? Reply #2. Jul 15 10, 7:15 AM |
insanity22186
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You didn't say how old your son is. If he's 4-6, don't worry, he will grow out of it. If he's 24-36, you've got a real problem! Reply #3. Jul 15 10, 7:51 AM |
| gillimalta
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Tee-hee! He's 5 and has outgrown his silly ambition of becoming a tractor...now he wants to be Dora the Explorer - time to worry yet? Reply #4. Jul 15 10, 9:05 AM |
Evil Sorcerer
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So has he grown out of Bob the builder yet? ;) Reply #5. Jul 15 10, 9:20 AM |
| gillimalta
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He prefers Handy Manny who, as far as I can work out, is the Hispanic version! Reply #6. Jul 15 10, 9:45 AM |
| gillimalta
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By the way, RMG, "Begin by telling him that chocolate is poisonous to dogs and he shouldn't let his little friend eat them" is inspired! I wish I'd thought of that! Reply #7. Jul 15 10, 9:48 AM |
| insanity22186
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He's o.k. When my daughter was young, she had a doll that she swore talked to her. The problem was the doll - my daughter said the doll didn't like the other dolls and didn't want to share the doll bed or toy box. We came home on leave once when my daughter was 5 and we had to bring along this 'anti-social' doll so that she wouldn't fight with the other dolls while we were gone. It's one thing to develop invisible friends - it's quite another to give them socially developmental problems. Reply #8. Jul 15 10, 10:28 AM |
Arpeggionist
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When I was a kid I used the personae of some real friends of mine and others I wished were friends in imaginary situations. I imagined what they'd say if they were around. By the time I was 18 when I was having spiritual issues I almost always solved them by working them out in daydreams with the personae of a girlfriend of mine (a very real one, albeit distant) in my mind's ear. It wasn't an "imaginary girlfriend" but more an imaginary conversation I could have easily had with her had she not been across the ocean at the time. Reply #9. Jul 15 10, 5:26 PM |
Jazmee27
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I used to have imaginary friends back when no one wanted to be my reaone. Today, I still have some of these "imaginary" friends (I talk to them when I need help solving a problem, etc.) Plus, I'd like to be a writer someday, I personally think that an imagination (even imaginnary friends) are fine-but often discouraged in those who use it constructively because people don't understand us. And then there are those who don't use it (creativity, imagination, whatever) for any practical use. Reply #10. Aug 11 10, 2:55 PM |
s-m-w
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Nothing wrong with this, seems quite normal for many adults too, after all, some even think they have "on line" friends ! Reply #11. Aug 11 10, 3:41 PM |
Emma058
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I believe most people have had imaginary friends. I recall my much younger sister having an imaginary friend named Kathy and sometimes she would remind us that it was Kathy we were speaking to not her. Reply #12. Aug 11 10, 5:07 PM |
| veronikkamarrz
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I don't recall imaginary exactly, but my son (middle child) called all WHITE butterflies "Julie." I asked him why they were Julie, and he said "That's their name." Who knows. Kids do, think, say the most remarkable things. It's wonderful, and we must not forget. :) Reply #13. Aug 11 10, 7:28 PM |
Creedy
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I used to tell people I had a twin - wouldn't have a clue why - but when they started to want to meet her, I had to say she died. I've felt guilty about bumping her off ever since. Reply #14. Aug 12 10, 5:07 AM |
| Jazmee27
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Imagination's what keeps us sane Without it we'd be bored to tears/stressed out to no end Reply #15. Mar 14 11, 6:27 PM |
MotherGoose
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When she was little, my daughter referred to my FunTrivia friends as my "imaginary friends". I guess there was an element of unreality about people one socialises with over the internet whom one has never met in real life. Reply #16. Mar 21 11, 12:12 PM |
| Manjari97
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I do have imaginary friends and i also like to talk to them sometimes! Reply #17. Mar 24 11, 5:21 AM |
Blackdresss
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Speaking of Imaginary Friends... "Millennials Are Quitting Social Media Because It's A Waste Of Time, And Makes Them Feel Bad About Themselves." "Does Quitting Social Media Make You Happier? Yes, Say Young People Doing It." "Science Explains How Facebook Makes You Sad" -- Psychology Today "The Real Reason Using Facebook Makes You Feel Bad" -- Psychology Today "Why Facebook Makes You Feel Bad About Yourself" -- Time Magazine "Facebook Says 'Passively Consuming' The News Feed Will Make You Feel Worse About Yourself." "Facebook Apologizes For Psychological Experiments On Users" "Facebook Tinkers With Users' Emotions In News Feed Experiment, Stirring Outcry" "Facebook's Fascinating (And Disturbing) History Of Secret Experiments" "Facebook's Mood Manipulation Experiment Might Have Been Illegal" -- The Atlantic "Everything We Know About Facebook's Secret Mood Manipulaton Experiment" -- The Atlantic "Facebook Conducted Psychological Experiments On Unknowing Users" Do you really need the links? Look it up yourselves, or just ask yourself why you might have 1,750 "friends" in FB and feel terrible about yourself, every time you log on. Because none of those friends are real, and all of them are perfect. You know, just like you in your real life? I think the worst thing they did, and admitted to, was logging the first five or six words you started to post, but then erased, because those were the most "honest" words you may have posted, and then changed your mind. And for some unknown reason, probably boredom, they decided to conduct a little experiment and then find the "news" that would make you feel the worst about yourself, the second you logged in. There is absolutely nothing "social" about social media. Reply #18. Mar 16 18, 4:08 PM |
| sectant
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I'll never forgive my imaginary friend for running off with my imaginary girlfriend. In my car! The real car, not the imaginary one. Reply #19. Mar 21 18, 3:33 AM |
| Blackdresss
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And FB will never forgive thinking they were just a little too smart, and getting busted. Reply #20. Mar 21 18, 3:06 PM |
20 replies. On page 1 of 1 pages. 1
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