imaginary friends | ADHD Information

Is it normal for kids with adhd to have imaginary friends? My daughter is 7 and she was playing with her bratz doll and it got dirty and she was going to go put it in the washer, when she walked by me she was talking saying I'm not putting it in the trash, I said I know she said no my freind thought i was throwing it in the trash. I just said ok. I thought it was weird but it's good to have an imagination.

Is she hearing voices talking to her?

No, I'm not thinking bipolar.....more like spirits in the house.

i don't think so, should i question her more about it? I thought it was better to just ignore it. It's the first time this has happened.weird thing that you said spirit, my mom-n-laws aunt who raised her for a good while is in the hospital dying and today my mom-n-law asked her if she knew who she was and aunt betsey said yes a spirit.

I wouldn't bother asking her....unless you hear her talking to her friend again. Then I would just ask her things like what her friend's name is, etc....see what she'll tell you. You may find out it's a TV character or something. I wouldn't worry about it...my boy is 8 and will sometimes talk to "someone" when he's playing.....

I would find out if the aunt is still living!

dillon has a "friend" his name is jason.. they play all the time and he goes everywhere with us.. sometimes i tell dillon jason has to go home and see his mommy..I used an imaginery friend when I was smallwait...its not OK to hear the voices?

I am 32 ns still have an imaginary friend.

As long as it is not getting in the way of her regular
life I would not worry about it.Thanks to all...I am going to ask her doc but I'm gonna leave her alone about it because alot of you have had this happen. So I am gonna take everyones advise and go see a doc and leave her alone about it.My brother had an imaginary friend named Sally. He had Sally until about 9 or 10 years old. He doesn't have ADHD or anything else. As a matter of fact, he is now the CEO of a division of Kodak and we still love to tease him about Sally.Both of my sons had a few different imaginary friends at different times. I read that they usually grow out of them around 8 or 9 years old. I don't remember the statistic of how many children have imaginary friends, but it was much higher than I had initially believed.

My girls had an imaginary enemy for awhile. He was so naughty and engaged in all manner of unacceptable behavior. Michael was his name. I was a little unnerved at first, but as with most things (vanilla kids or not) he faded away. Here is an article I found and a link too:

http://www.adhdissues.com/ms/news/522821/main.html

[Quote] Imaginary Companions Can Be Child's Fast Friends

Such characters are milestone in development, study says

By Angela Pirisi

MONDAY, Dec. 13 (HealthDayNews) -- Parents can stop fretting when their child sets an extra plate for an invisible friend, or shares a seemingly two-way conversation with a stuffed animal.

New research says make-believe friends are the sign of a fertile imagination and a milestone in a child's cognitive and emotional development.The finding basically topples the view of imaginary friends as abnormal, proposedby such psychotherapists as Sigmund Freud and Jean Piaget.

Sixty-five percent of children studied reported having imaginary companions at some point by the age of 7, according to the researchers at the University of Washington and University of Oregon.

After surveying 152 preschoolers, ages 3 and 4, about imaginary friends, and following up with 100 of them three years later, the researchers found that such companions are a normal, common phenomenon. And while it was previously thought that imaginary friends were the exclusive territory of younger children, the study revealed they're at least as common among school-age children (31 percent) as among preschoolers (28 percent).

"In the past, people have claimed that the preschool years were the peak time and that imaginary companions declined thereafter. However, our study shows that as many or more children aged 6 to 7 are interacting with imaginary companions as children aged 3 to 4. Parents are less likely to be aware of the imaginary companions of older children," explained study co-author Marjorie Taylor, a psychology professor at the University of Oregon.

So who and what are these magical playmates?

About half of the time, preschoolers played with make-believe pals inspired by toys, while more than two thirds of school-age children (67 percent) cited invisible friends. Also, 57 percent of the imaginary companions of school-age youngsters were humans and 41 percent were animals. And they came in all shapes, sizes, and even species. Imaginary companions, according to the study, could be invisible boys and girls, a squirrel, a panther, a dog, a 7-inch-tall elephant or a 100-year-old GI Joe doll.

Imaginary friends play an important role in a child's development, Taylor said. "What we have shown in previous work is that having an imaginary companion is associated with advanced social understanding -- being able to take the perspective of another person." Think of it as dress rehearsal for real life, interacting with all types of characters and handling conflict resolution, the researchers said.

Such friends also help children control the big-people environment that often puts things too far out of their reach or understanding.

"Engaging in imaginary play is for children a way of taking the big, complicated world outside and converting it into something they can manage," explained Jerome Singer, professor emeritus of psychology and child study at Yale University. "They may use a toy or transform some other object, like a cardboard box, into anything they want. It's an important experience for them that gives them a sense of power, and a source of fun."

Added Taylor: "Children with imaginary companions, if anything, are less shy than other children and more sociable. They do use imaginary companions to cope with various issues or problems, but this is a positive adaptive response."

Children also sometimes use imaginary companions to project their own feelings and thoughts. So it's no coincidence when a child says that Suzy Bear hates spinach, or wants another bedtime story, Taylor said.

And while it's no guarantee a child will grow up to be a genius, research does support the idea that children who have more imaginative play are more likely to be more creative, Singer said.

Still, parents are often concerned about imaginary friends. But don't worry, Singer said, because research consistently shows that kids know these companions aren't real. Besides, adults do similar things, such as talking to themselves or God, so they shouldn't think it too strange that children also engage in internal dialogue, he said.

For parents who still feel uncomfortable when their child talks to inanimate objects, take solace in knowing that kids outgrow imaginary friends, much like they lose interest in toys or other activities, the researchers said.

The study findings appear in the current issue of Developmental Psychology.

More information

For more on children and imaginary friends, visit New York Universitys Child Study Center (www.aboutourkids.org ).

SOURCES: Marjorie Taylor, Ph.D., professor, psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene; Jerome Singer, Ph.D., professor emeritus, psychology and child study, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.; November 2004 Developmental Psychology

shue38547.819837963If your daughter often talks to herself you should ask her point blank if she is hearing voices in her head. That is a sign of early onset bipolar---a very common one. Most kids (and I raised five) do not talk to themselves or act like an imaginery friend is real. Best to cover all corners. Maybe she should see a pdoc. I think the "spirits" theory is quite a stretch. JMHO.psm090438547.8494328704

The spirits thing was a joke.

[QUOTE=psm0904]If your daughter often talks to herself you should ask her point blank if she is hearing voices in her head. That is a sign of early onset bipolar---a very common one. Most kids (and I raised five) do not talk to themselves or act like an imaginery friend is real. Best to cover all corners. Maybe she should see a pdoc. I think the "spirits" theory is quite a stretch. JMHO.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, but I strongly disagree. As the study says, 65% of children have imaginary friends by the time they are 7. I remember having one as a child. I acted as though he were real for instance, "You can't sit in that chair, Boo Boo is sitting there". It didn't mean I really believed he was real and I certainly didn't hear voices in my head. I was simply a child play acting. The bi-polar thing is almost as much as a stretch as the "spirits" theory.

My both girls have had imaginary friends when they were younger. I think it is just part of growing up. I had a number of imaginary friends when I was a kid. I even gave them voices and accents. I painted my dolls faces different colors and imagined they were friends from around the world. My parents put me in theatre, and it was a perfect fit.

This topic reminded me of my sister & I when we were younger. Any time we had a decision to make during playing she would have to go & ask her bellybutton!

Shes 34 now & the whole family still loves to tease her about it from time to time!