Imaginary friends...

Cookie_monster_7

My 2 year old daughter is spending ages playing with an imaginary Handy Manny and the tools (from play disney channel). She talks to them and took them into the bath and makes them dinner etc etc. Last week it was felix the cat from the cat food ad. Is this normal? She made me get "Handy Manny" out of the bath and I had to carry him downstairs for her and I go along with it but it freaks me out a bit

itsallinthemind

Cookie_monster wrote: »

My 2 year old daughter is spending ages playing with an imaginary Handy Manny and the tools (from play disney channel). She talks to them and took them into the bath and makes them dinner etc etc. Last week it was felix the cat from the cat food ad. Is this normal? She made me get "Handy Manny" out of the bath and I had to carry him downstairs for her and I go along with it but it freaks me out a bit

Completely normal, in fact when children do not partake in imaginary play or have imaginary friends, then you should be concerned

"London’s Institute of Education has found that children with imaginary friends are often more articulate, confident and creative"

Very handy too at times "Oooo look Peppa pig likes Vegetables...." lol

snapping_crocodile

It is completely normal to have imaginary friends. I think it is good that children have the opportunity to express their imaginations like this, too many children nowadays have forgotten how to have imaginary play because they spend too much time on computers. It may freak you out but just play along with her....and just remember it is a phase that will pass

mr_and_mrs_ts

i'm with the above too. Completely normal and shows creative thinking. She's playing with them like girls do with dolls.

No need to freak you out - if worried don't know if you do take her to some toddler centres / play areas so she also interacts with other toddlers. But it sounds positively healthy to me.

pandora205

Its a sign of healthy intellectual ability, especially if it goes beyond imitating sequences from television/stories/observation. It's one of the first signs of abstract thinking - the ability to manipulate ideas beyond the here and now - and bodes very well for the future.

It's a good idea to introduce play materials that don't have other associations too, e.g. dolls house, animals and other small worlds play, and kitchen set an dressing up materials etc., particularly those that can be improvised into different scenarios.

Amanda65

I had two imaginary friends called Pocolus and Patty They then got a baby and a dog and my mum said I once sobbed when she trod in the dogs bowl :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

My eldest DD had imaginary friends and my DS used to chat to a hippo called Jellyfish who apparently lived in our loft .

I think it shows an active imagination

jinky67

Totally normal, my son had one

I had to set the table for him, hold his hand when out walking and talk to the little sod as well:rotfl:

he did eventually grow out of him though

I think its kids way of making sense of the world

my_gorgeous_ellie-belle

Totally normal - everything has a 'life' in our house. DD's knife and fork can sometimes be people if she's deep in her own imagination at the dinner table. We just keep quiet and listen totally amused whenever she does it - it's so cute!

She is almost 4 now and has been doing this for as long as a i can rememeber her ever having imaginative playtime.

cheepskate_2

Got to agree with eveyone
My son had an imaginary lawn mower, the big sit on kind. One day he took it on the bus and sat it on the seat beside himself. Along I came and sat down beside him and squashed this mower. I don't know what everyone on the bus thought with this child in tears for seemingly no reason.

Spendless

Oh yes, we've had imaginary animals for years, frogs, cats, owls and more recently crocodiles who have helped DD with her swimming lessons (they told her she needed to keep her tummy up when swimming on her back). An alter ego 'mum' who is quite mean in a surreal way. And only this w/end I've been 'introduced' to her new invisible friend, a 15 year old called Lauren. Am sure she was influenced by the ending of Dr Who. Hopefullly they won't all turn up on my doorstep for real when she's grown up.:D Convinced DD will eventually write the script for surreal cartoons Simpson or South Park style.:rotfl:

snugglepet20

At least she doesn't make you pretend to be a talking guinea pig and build her a fly-boat out of duvets and chairs so we can rescue a baby cricket . I am also made to open doors so Dora and Boots can come in and sometimes Handy Manny's tools are stuck in the airing cupboard and have to be rescued and I am Numberjack 6 and DS is Numberjack 4. :rotfl: