Why kids invent imaginary friends
Photo: Lane Oatey/Blue Jean Images/Getty Images Illustration: iStockphoto
When Deborah Tetley is too busy to play with her four-year-old son, Jackson, he invites his friend Dylan over to play soccer or hockey. It works out well for Tetley because she still has only one child to supervise ? Dylan is her son?s pretend friend.
Dylan is also a real-life friend of Jackson?s, but since he lives two hours away in Lethbridge, Alta., and they only see each other on summer camping trips, Jackson has to pretend play with him the rest of the year.
Tetley says she was taken aback the first time she saw her son high-fiving thin air. ?I was a little startled. The constant question parents ask themselves is, ?Is this normal"?? But Tetley can relate ? when she was five she had an imaginary friend named Timmy who sat beside her at mealtimes. Here are some more frequently asked questions about imaginary friends:
How common are imaginary friends"
Having an imaginary companion is common in preschool and beyond. The pretend pal is often a personified object such as a teddy bear that can talk and play with a child; sometimes it?s an invisible friend like Dylan. According to a 2004 study by University of Washington and University of Oregon psychologists, by age seven, 65 percent of children have had an imaginary companion at some point. Research indicates eldest or only children, like Jackson, are more likely to invent imaginary friends.
Should parents be worried"
?It?s not a caus...
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