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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Anyone Else Have Kids With An Imaginary Friend?
NiNi.R. 01:00 PM 08-30-2012
Since about two and a half my own DD has had an imaginary friend. She is now 4. I first discovered she had an imaginary friend when one evening my DD was yelling "Hey, do you want to come play with me?" out the living room window. Worried about who she just invited over I looked out the window and seen there wasn't anyone there. When I asked her who she was talking to she replied Shetta.

Shetta normally arrives in the evenings or on weekends when there aren't any other kids for her to play with. Shetta never gets blamed for unruly behavior so I always go along with her. Lately Shetta is around a lot because the majority of the children I have here now are under the age of 2 and I find my DD is very bored.

I find this completely fascinating! I never had an imaginary friend when I was little..but I have two brothers very close in age with me. It amazes me the things she comes up with. For example... Shetta is 6,drives a shiny red car, and lives in the city.

I'm curious to see how much longer it lasts before there is no mention of her. I've already been jotting down stories of Shetta in her baby book so she can look back later.
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nanglgrl 01:09 PM 08-30-2012
I think it's great that she has such a vivid imagination, it probably does stem from being bored or lonely but the great thing is that she found a way to get around those feelings she didn't like and created a friend. That said, you may want to check with licensing and see if you have to count Shetta in your numbers or maybe that is why she only comes on nights and weekends.
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sharlan 01:37 PM 08-30-2012
My daughter (now 35) had two friends named Rick and Brick. My granddaughter had Bego. Sadly, they all went away as the girls grew up.
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bgmeyers 01:57 PM 08-30-2012
My former dcg, now entering high school, had two imaginary friends, Fred and Effel. They lived in her pocket. One of my favorite memories!
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itlw8 02:13 PM 08-30-2012
As soon as B could talk she talked about Evan it continuned for years. She is 5 now. once Evan spent the night with my dgd because B was going to GRandmas and did not like Evan to come.

It is Creepy much more than any imaginary friend I have heard of. Almost like a spirit. I told Dgd I did not want Evan to spend the night again



Later I learned she is a twin and the other one died.... so maybe Evan is that twin. still creepy.
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SilverSabre25 02:16 PM 08-30-2012
I had imaginary friends growing up. I had several, actually, and bossed them ALL around. I mostly remember two though, twins I imaginatively named Boy and Girl. I also had a small stuffed rabbit that I called Bunny and he was very, very mean most of the time. *sigh* I had to spend most of my time scolding him. :P

My daughter occasionally has imaginary "friends" but they're fleeting, sadly. For awhile she had a pet "dirt monster" that would show up when we were in the car. Then that faded (it was a couple years ago) and now earlier this week she brought a pretend pet bunny home from school. She talks about it occasionally, but I think it's something she mostly plays while she's alone in her room.
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spud912 02:25 PM 08-30-2012
My imaginary friend was named Emily.

My dd (3 years old) has an imaginary friend she calls "my friend the skeleton." Her fascination with skeletons stems from last October when we did a human body theme and we really spent a lot of time naming the bones (since the kids loved it so much). A year later, and she still invites her "friend the skeleton" everywhere.
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NiNi.R. 03:52 PM 08-30-2012
Originally Posted by nanglgrl:
I think it's great that she has such a vivid imagination, it probably does stem from being bored or lonely but the great thing is that she found a way to get around those feelings she didn't like and created a friend. That said, you may want to check with licensing and see if you have to count Shetta in your numbers or maybe that is why she only comes on nights and weekends.
Too Funny!

Originally Posted by itlw8:
As soon as B could talk she talked about Evan it continuned for years. She is 5 now. once Evan spent the night with my dgd because B was going to GRandmas and did not like Evan to come.

It is Creepy much more than any imaginary friend I have heard of. Almost like a spirit. I told Dgd I did not want Evan to spend the night again



Later I learned she is a twin and the other one died.... so maybe Evan is that twin. still creepy.
That is fascinating to me and also creepy
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Childminder 05:51 PM 08-30-2012
My dd had many imaginary friends until she went to school and made friends, maybe in 1st or 2nd grade? A psychic once told me that she was surrounded by spirits, guardians if you will and they were going to guide her through life. I'll have to ask her is she remembers them. One was a Native American, I do remember that and she was always attracting the homeless and odd people, always helping the underdogs.
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Zoe 06:13 PM 08-30-2012
My DD has had an imaginary friend for 2 years. She is now 6. His name is Johnson and sometimes he's the prince from a Disney movie and invites her to a ball. Sometimes they are boyfriend/girlfriend, others he's just a friend. She doesn't talk about him much, mostly when we're at home and she's playing by herself. Johnson isn't around at school or during playdates. I don't think it's a problem as long as it's a healthy scenario and it doesn't last much past elementary school. IMHO.
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Daycarelady1979 08:08 PM 08-30-2012
My son, who is now 9 years old, used to have an imaginary friend named Little Peep. Little Peep was a hummingbird & she came about soon after my son's grandma "Grammie" passed away. Grammie always loved hummingbirds. My son told me one day that Little Peep died. I don't recall all the specifics now, but I do have it all written in his baby book.

The next imaginary friend he had was named Jerry & Jerry was VERY naughty! It's funny now, all these years later, we have 2 neighbors, literally one on each side of us, named Jerry.

I have another son now, he's 6 months old...I can't wait to see if he has imaginary friends too. I'm fascinated by it all
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Breezy 09:10 PM 08-30-2012
I had an imaginary baby that I would take care of and pretend I was her mommy. I must have always wanted to be a mommy...or daycare provider.
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Oneluckymom 04:36 PM 08-31-2012
I also find it creepy. Thank the good lord my kids don't have imaginary friends!! I am so superstitious and spooked by stuff like this....I've seen to many shows like the one on Scfy...paranormal "something".

I can't even watch scary movies without being traumatized....

Funny thing is it fascinates me, but then I get scared later...go figure!
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emmajo 07:30 PM 08-31-2012
I think imaginary friends are wonderful! My daughter had one -Friend Named Bob (never called anything besides that full name!) for years. He almost seemed to become a member of our family - going out to eat with us, etc. He also had many imaginary friends of his own which he invited into our home - that became a little bit of a problem when they didn't all fit in the car, or when we inadvertently sat on one! My daughter has grown into a brilliant, creative young woman. The most talented and creative day care child I've ever had also had 2 imaginary friends. I see it as a good sign of vivid imagining, of creativity, of valid and worthwhile ways to work out dealing with relationships in a safe and friendly environment. I miss Friend Named Bob!
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MsMe 09:42 PM 08-31-2012
I have a DCB who had "monster" the was tiny and hreen and lived in a tiny house on their roof. The sometimes rode in the car to daycare, but i dont think he ever came in. I think he occasionally was in their house but he was sometimes too naughty bc he didnt know how to live in the house .....i dcb liked the idea of him living on the roof 'watching over ' them
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dave4him 03:01 PM 09-01-2012
I think we all need one
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jojosmommy 08:01 PM 09-01-2012
My son has a few. Vason and Mike. Both are pretty cool guys from what I hear. My son uses them most often when he plays baseball in the backyard and is stuck on second base. One of his imaginary friends hits a double and there you have it he is back at home to hit again!

They also really like cookies (a off limits type treat here only given out on special occassions) so they tend to come around when we have cookies. And they love to share their cookies with my son .

I am partial but I think its a sign of a broad knowledge skill that they can use their brains to make up a whole being, integrate that being into their current activity, use the proper forms of language with this being (despite the fact that they are solely speaking without feedback), and provide us with information on what this being would say/do/act like in any situation. I think they have to be pretty comfortable with their surroundings, pretty quick witted, and pretty advanced academically to be able to make this work all at once. But again, this is my son so obviously I would think this .
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