Page 26 - Dainfern Precinct Living Issue 2_2024

Today's Child
TODAY'S CHILD

DOES YOUR

CHILD HAVE

AN IMAGINARY

FRIEND?

B Y ANEL ANNAND ALE

ARE YOU A LITTLE CREEPED-OUT WHEN YOU HEAR

YOUR CHILD HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH THIN AIR?

xperts once believed lonely and socially incompetent is I vividly remember trying to sneak
that having an imaginary generally false. Most children with up on my toys in the dark as a
friend was a sign that imaginary friends are well-adjusted kid because I believed that they
something was wrong and socialise easily. came alive at night and I spent
in a child’s life. They hours twirling around the garden
Ehypothesised that The phenomenon of imaginary pretending to be Snow White. Seen
children who dreamed up imaginary friends is most likely to appear in in this light, it seems completely
friends were isolated, socially children between the ages of 3 plausible that children might
incompetent or lonely. Yet, it seems and 5 years and disappear when extend these elements of their
that the phenomenon of imaginary the children reach school-going imagination to include friends
friends is not a new one – in ancient age. However, a certain percentage and confidants. Yet, despite your
times, people believed that spirits of the children may keep their child’s insistence that ‘Mr Doodle’
were sent as companions (for adults imaginary friendships well into their also have a seat at the table,
and children) in order to guide and primary school years or even into studies reveal that almost all
inspire them. adolescence. Girls are slightly more children with imaginary friends are
likely to have imaginary friends than clearly able to distinguish between
Recent research has not only boys are and, similarly, first-born reality and fantasy and know that
revealed that having imaginary children are more likely to have their ‘friends’ aren’t real.
friends is a rather common imaginary friends than their younger
phenomenon among young children, siblings. This seems to happen Studies have linked imaginary
they also concluded that the original directly as a result of their ability friends to creativity in children
hypotheses about the link between to use elements of fantasy and (apparently fiction writers are
having imaginary friends and being pretend in their play. more likely than average to

26 DPL issue 2 2024
18 DPL issue 1 2024