DD, 3, talks to her "friends" all the time. She LOVES the Herbie the Love Big movies and has little cars she talks to. Yesterday she was yelling "Children! Where are the Children Mom?" I say "Do you have children? Are you the Mommy?" She says "NO! I'm Sydney! They are Herbie's children!" LOL!

She just chats with the "friends" on a daily basis and says they are sleeping or having tea. She even comes to me to ask for advice if her "friends" are hitting or not sharing. It's just SO funny!

Is this typical three year old behavior? Or is this an only child thing? Does anyone else's kids have imaginary friends?

By Texannie on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 08:36 am:

Probably a little of both! LOL My son had two friends, Jack and Shadow. We loved them because we could get them to eat food that ds didn't like! LOL He was an only child till he was 4.5. Jack and Shadow moved away when he was about 6 or so.

By Emily7 on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 09:20 am:

I remember my little brother has an imaginary friend named Fred when he was about that age. The funny thing was when we moved to Oklahoma he found a best friend named Fred.

By Happynerdmom on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 09:21 am:

My dd had imaginary friends at right around that age. First it was a little boy, then she gradually added more. She and I were just talking and laughing about this the other day. We cannot remember what his name was!! (She'll be 14 in two weeks.) She was the firstborn, so maybe that has something to do with it. Her brother never had imaginary friends. I can't really remember when they "moved" away, but I thoroughly enjoyed them while they were here!

By Amecmom on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 09:39 am:

This is not quite the same, but my son 2yrs and 4 months likes to role play with us. He'll watch Dragon Tales and afterward say, "I Max, you Emmy" - the characters on the show. He'll do that with other TV shows he watches or characters in books that we read to him. I read once that a developing imagination is a fragile thing and to tread very carefully around it, to be supportive of it. It sounds like your little girl has a great imagination. Keep supporting it.
Ame

By Texannie on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 09:44 am:

My son is 14 and he talks about Jack and Shadow. It's funny, he had to write a paper in LA about his life this year and he talked about them.
I don't think my dd did, but she is/was highly imaginative and still talks to her dolls and stuff.

By Debbie on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 10:27 am:

My oldest ds had an imaginary friend for awhile. I want to say he was around 3. He stopped talkng about him when he started preschool. Now, my youngest has never had an imaginary friend. He does talk a lot when he plays. He has some Little People stuff and he acts out a lot when he is playing with them. He also talks to his stuffed animals sometimes.

By Kaye on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 10:28 am:

Two of my three kids had imaginary friends. With my daughter they became a pretty intrical part of our lives actually. And then one day they disappeared, about age 5, right before she started school. My kindergartner, still has moments of IF...oops! This too shall pass I think my kids had them for two reasons, one they were just really artsy kids, creative and into that stuff, but also to help deal with things, in both cases, we moved and had a major death in the family. I think it just gives them some control of their world.

By Bellajoe on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 11:38 am:

My kids don't have imaginary friends...they have each other instead. They are only 18 months apart in age. But they also do role playing. They watch Kim Possible on disney and all of a sudded she is Kim and ds is Ron (kims best friend). They do this with a lot of the shows they watch, it's cute. Kids have such great imaginations!

By Trina~moderator on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 12:24 pm:

Very normal! B had an imaginary friend named "Knock Knock" who she used to blame for HER wrong doings. LOL! For example, she would blame Knock Knock for not picking up toys, etc.. Haven't heard about her in a long while.

http://www.parentcenter.com/expert/parenting/development/4807.html

Is it normal for my preschooler to talk constantly about her imaginary friend? Ages 3 to 4

Very much so. Preschoolers are an imaginative lot, and as many as two-thirds of them have imaginary friends, who come in all sizes, genders, and personalities. Some kids also have pretend animal pals.

Playing with a made-up person isn't so different from playing with action figures or dolls. In fact, imaginary friends come in very handy. A pretend pal might fill a friendship role (talk about loyalty!). Or he might be a heroic protector. A sidekick who's endowed with super strength or magical powers can lend a child a hand in controlling his fears or feelings of powerlessness. Other imaginary friends are scapegoats ("Stuart spilled the juice on the sofa!"). An imaginary friend can actually help you out, too, if he talks about things that are difficult for your child to broach on his own ("Sammy doesn't like it when Mommy's late to pick him up from preschool").

Still, it can be unsettling to sit across from an imaginary friend at the dinner table. Don't overindulge this buddy (forget the extra place-setting, for instance), or your child may feel that you're being condescending. But do show interest and acceptance ("So Sammy loves pizza, too?"). And don't worry — there's no indication that kids with imaginary friends are more likely than other kids to forgo "real" playmates. In fact, research shows that kids with imaginary friends turn out to be more cooperative, creative, independent, and happy than those without.

By Laurazee on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 12:25 pm:

My 3yo ds hasn't any imaginary friends yet, but he does keep handing us imaginary "snacks" ("Here's a snack for you, Mommy") and throwing imaginary balls. It's so cute! (and personally, I like the imaginary ball thing - especially inside the house!!)

By Mommyathome on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 03:24 pm:

We haven't ever had imaginary friends at our house. But, our 3 kids are all close in age.....so there really isn't much room for anyone else LOL.
But, I do know that it is totally normal behavior!

By Amyj on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 05:11 pm:

My son had an imaginary giraffe when he was three. Her name was Francis and I had to set the table for her every night at dinner. He is six now and often talks about when he had his friend Francis. I think it is a sign of a great imagination!

By Tink on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 05:44 pm:

Both of my girls have had IF's. Sami's started when she was three, Blue and Magenta...LOL Bella is 2 1/2 and that has become a big deal. They (Bubba and Lizzy) play with us and its great for roleplaying what to do when something happens that she doesn't like. They are very good at cleaning up toys and cleaning up the table after snack. Can you tell Bella is my clean freak? She also asks what to do if Lizzy won't share. I think its an active imagination rather than only child. My oldest already had her younger brother before her IF came along and Bella will ask Sami and Seth to leave her alone so she can play with Bubba and Lizzy. Seth didn't have them, though, big surprise.

By Eve on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 06:30 pm:

I love all of your stories! So great! Thankfully, Herbie has not joined us for any meals. LOL! Although, today, we made popcorn and she said "Oh good, there's plenty for the Herbies!" Yes, there are multiple Herbies!

Laura-the ball in the house cracks me up!!LOL!

By Eve on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 06:32 pm:

Just curious-those kids with imaginary friends, are they more dramatic and emotional? I ask, because I think my DD is very dramatic!! I am that way myself, but I just wonder if that's part of it too.

By Texannie on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 07:01 pm:

My dd is the dramatic, emotional, imaginative one, but she never had an IF. My son is very focused, highly creative thinking and sort of an introvert. He's the one who had the imaginary friends.

By Happynerdmom on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 07:24 pm:

My dd is not dramatic at all. Imaginative, but not dramatic.

By Colette on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 08:04 pm:

I had them - cowie, oinya, and the old man - they lived behind the kitchen door. I think I had a pretty vivid imagination.

My oldest had "Sandy", my son never had one, and my youngest had "Amy" which she told me was actually her brain and that she and her brain Amy had great conversations. LOL

By Melana on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 10:48 am:

LOLOLOL!!!! These are all so funny! my older brother had an IF, his name was Jake, and he was a golden retriever. I don't remember how old he was when Jake got "hit by a car" But I do remember that my brother had to have a funeral and a burrial for him. It was kind of sad actually. I never had any, I had an alter-ego that was a tiger, lol.

By Babysitbarb on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 02:49 pm:

My cousins little girls is 5 and right now she has imaginary friends. It' funny for now. She's so serious about it.If you ask her a question about them she has just the funnest responses. Her mom asked her one day if she was ready to go out to eat and Sydnee said let me ask my friend if she wants to go and when my cousin said to her"You have an imaginary friend?" She said " Duh, I have an Imaginary Mom too!" I lose it every time I hear this story.