My seven year old son tells me he has an imaginary friend. Is this normal?

Question

I'm not worried...but it's a little hard hearing me say "him and his imaginary friend were playing during recess in school.

Answer 1

i think its pretty normal because younger kids have large imaginations in about a couple months or maybe a year he'll get over it i've been through the same thing

Answer 2

Hi Ms b, yes its perfectly normal to have an imaginary friend, i used to have one, and i was older than your son, sometimes children can have difficulty making friends and use an imaginary friend as a substitute, after all your imaginary friend is always gonna be everything you want them to be they are apart of your imagination.

but don't think that there may be something wrong it just may be the case of one of those things that children grow out of..i did

Sit down and have a talk to him see how he is getting on at school maybe enquire about any friends, does he have maybe any friends over to play?If only to put your mind at ease

Answer 3

Yeh, it is normal.  Don't worry about it.

Answer 4

Na, hes a freak, have him locked up.

No its obviously normal...

Answer 5

It's normal. i had two imaginary friends popie and shabo. Beat that.

Answer 6

I wouldn't worry at all- when I was his age, I had several horses...(for some reason my imaginary friends weren't human) but they had names, and they were different colors, (pink, green, blue) and lived in different areas of the house. If I rode one to the kitchen, I would have to ride him back and return him to his area by the front door... sometimes I didn't feel like putting them back, but I couldn't fit them all in one room...Yeah I am quite normal now LOL  I think they helped me through some stress, and after a while I forgot they were there...my parents wondered why I ran everywhere, haha

Answer 7

Yea it is normal my son is now 10 and he  had an imaginary friend till he was 9 then he was like mom can u have another child so then me and my husband talked bout it then we agreed so then in nine months we had  our daughter.

Answer 8

Just hope his imaginary friend doesn't end up like Charlie on Hide And Seek.

ha, that probably wasn't the best thing to say, but i couldn't help but say it because it's true.

Sometimes, like with my sister, she has lots of friends but she doesn't have anyone to play with in our neighborhood. She usually just plays with her dolls and this imaginary friend.

But here's the deal: my friend Lauren has a sister named Korrien (core-in) and she has an imaginary friend named Sarah.. but sarah isn't so imaginary...

I was at Lauren's house one time(and yes, both of our names are lauren, but she's mexican.) and like, i saw things move. Korrien comes in and goes, SARAH! STOP MOVING STUFF! THEY'RE TRYING TO CLEAN!

and I mean, Korrien is smart, but she's only 8. She doesn't have an imagination like that. -sigh-

Sarah is truly the most terrifying thing in the world for me. I honestly do think Sarah is "real", but like... ghostly/spiritually, you know? she's scary...

Answer 9

I know its normal for kids to have imaginary friends, I'm not sure what the age is where they should grow out of it, My son (who is now 14) had an imaginary friend when he was 4 and we moved 3000 miles away from family.

Has your son had any emotional trauma lately? I would talk to his pediatrician. Maybe you could try to make playdates on the weekend for him with other kids his age and explain to him that "your friend was not invited to Johnnys house today" He needs to stay here and wait for you to come home. I'm sure as your son gets older and makes more friends, that his friend will fade away, as "Matthew" did in our family.

Answer 10

And the problem is what?  He has an imainary friend.  most kids do at this age.  I've gotten quite used to having them around our home.  My eldest just started outgrowing her imaginary friend stage but my seven year old and four year old still have their's around.  Our dinner table is quite full with "friends" every night.

Answer 11

This is completely normal. My cousin had an imaginary friend when she was eight. And don't worry that he won't make friends or anything. Maybe he saw a tv show or something that gave him the idea for an imaginary friend. Having one is kind of like playing a pretend game when you are bored.

Answer 12

every singel religious person has an imaginary friend, whether it be jesus, alah, mohammed, god, budah, or the flying spagheti monster, so yeah its normal

Answer 13

yes its normal :

My child has an imaginary friend. Is this normal?

Expert Answers

Patricia Henderson Shimm, parent educator and author

Don't worry, your toddler is not only normal, she's also very creative. Her burgeoning imagination fuels this wonderful fictitious creation, someone who accompanies her as she explores the world. Firstborns often have imaginary friends, as do very bright kids. It's one way children learn to make distinctions between good and bad. For example, your child may blame her friend for any misdeeds, saying "Jane" made her spill the milk or pull her books off the shelves. If she passes the buck, take her explanation at face value and help her clean up, but gently remind her of the rules of the house. Try not to make a big deal about it when she mentions her buddy. That means neither contradicting her ("Oh, come on, stop pretending!") or grilling her about it, nor expanding on it by pretending to meet or talk to her invisible pal. There's no reason to make her feel funny about talking to someone who doesn't exist, but if you go all out and incorporate her friend into your world, then you'll likely have her pal hanging around for a long time. In the meantime, let her enjoy the company of her friend; she'll soon grow out of this common childhood phase.

Answer 14

It is normal...once he makes friends at school, he'll loose that imaginary friend.   One thing you could try is to have him invite 2 or 3 friends from school over to the house for a play date.  Do this twice a week for a month and he should outgrow his imaginary friend.

Answer 15

It is fairly normal, though it could be  sign that he's having a hard time making friends. When my sons had their imaginary friends we had very strict rules that they could not go anywhere with us, they could not go to school and they had to stay in their bedroom. It helped make the imaginary friend move on much quicker.

Answer 16

yes its ttly normal i didnt get rid of my imginary friend untill i met a good close friend when i was like 9 and to this day i still think of my imaginary friend. cheak out my sources

Answer 17

it seems normal but might wanna talk to his teacher to make sure that eh has friends that he plays with too.

Answer 18

My daughter had an imaginary friend named Lavender. She also has real friends so I never worried much about it.