Having a kid with an imaginary friend can be creepy...really creepy. How do you know if your child's invisible buddy is simply a product of an overactive imagination...or if your kid is seeing ghosts? While this is technically a Friday Funny post, I wanted to include a few tips for helping distinguish the two. You know, just in case!
1. Is your child an only child or lacks siblings/playmates close to their age? If your child doesn't have many kids his/her age around to play with, they might make up an imaginary friend to keep them occupied.
2. Have there been any major life changes happening to your family, such as a new baby on the way, a change in schools, moving to a new house, etc.? Sometimes kids use imaginary friends to process change.
3. Is your child aged 3 to 5 years? That's the most common age bracket for imaginary friends to show up. While imaginary friends can stick around past that window, it's rare for a child to have an imaginary friend after the age of nine.
4. Is your child showing bad behavior and blaming it on the imaginary friend? Is the child claiming that the imaginary friend is telling them to do bad things or violent things, such as hurting themselves or others?
5. Has your child become afraid of the imaginary friend? While the issues brought up in #4 and #5 don't necessarily mean that you're dealing with a supernatural interference, it does raise some red flags that something isn't right. At this point, I would contact the child's pediatrician immediately. He or she can help point you in the right direction, including providing referral services if further intervention should be required. If the child is in school or goes to a daycare/babysitter for a large portion of the day, also speak with the teacher/caregiver. He or she needs to be aware of what is going on, and can give you updates if the child is experiencing anything outside the home that could be contributing to the issue.
So when is an imaginary friend MORE than an imaginary friend??
I honestly don't have an answer. As with other aspects of the paranormal, you can't really prove its existence either way. However, I would be willing to believe there may be more than just the child's imagination if....
. You are absolutely positive that the child is receiving verified information that they could not have known otherwise. This is sometimes hard to distinguish, as kids pick up on waaaay more than we give them credit for. They can take an idea they see briefly on television, hear on the radio, or just experience anywhere out there in the world and morph it based on their limited life experience and developmental perceptions.
Try to ask the child non-leading questions about their imaginary friend. Try to get a name and any other information that can be verified. In addition to not asking leading questions, you want to try to remain neutral when speaking about the imaginary friend. Don't get excitable. Listen to the child and be supportive, but don't appear as if their answers to your questions are right or wrong.
Based on the child's age, they can describe the physical appearance of the imaginary friend to you, or you can have them draw their friend. Keep these drawings and a log documenting the activities of your child's imaginary friend. Keeping a log will help you spot patterns, such as if the imaginary friend makes an appearance at certain times, and if the behavior changes over the course of time.
Obviously, if the imaginary friend is manifesting physical activity that the child isn't capable of...such as illustrated in the comic above...or if other members of the family are seeing/hearing/experiencing unnatural phenomena, you MIGHT want to seek out the counsel of an experienced paranormal investigation team in your area. Your log of activity will be an invaluable resource to them, as they help research the history of your property, interview you and and your child, and help you get to the bottom of the mystery.
Have a Happy Friday, Ya'll!
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