Many children use their imaginations to create an imaginary friend, someone who is always with them and who they can count on at all times. Imaginary friends accompany many children, and in most cases, this is normal behavior. For parents, discovering that their child has an invisible friend can be a cause for concern.
This is something totally logical, parents are afraid of everything unknown and of anything that may affect the proper development of children. But as we said, in most cases it is normal that will disappear with time. In general, when the child turns around 7 or 8 years old, the invisible friend usually disappears in the same way that it arrived, without creating any trauma to the little one.
However, to make sure everything is correct, you should observe your child and any changes in his behavior following the arrival of his invisible friend.
Should I worry about my child's invisible friend?
It is very normal for children between 2 and 3 years old, create imaginary characters that help them grow. At this age, the imagination of the little ones is infinite and you should not worry about it. However, it is very important that you control your child's behavior in his social environment. It is possible that your imaginary friend encourages your isolation from other children, and this, if it could cause some problems.
As a father or mother, you should not forbid your child to have an imaginary friendas they will not understand it and this can be a reason for negative reactions in the child. You should only closely monitor their behavior, but letting your child have their own space and without invading their privacy.
Control the time you spend with that imaginary character and the conversations you may have with him. Thus, you can discover if that friend is good or if on the contrary, is a negative character that denotes a problem. If you notice that the child isolates himself, prefers to stay at home to play with his invisible friend instead of going out to play with other children, he becomes more withdrawn, shows more aggressive or lowers his academic performance, consult a specialist.