I always wondered why as a child I never had an imaginary friend. Was I less imaginative than the rest of the children? Was I antisocial during my childhood? Or was I simply not selfish enough to make it all about me and my imaginary world? If I had an imaginary friend at that time I would have loved for it to be a talking puppy, taking care of little me, giving me advice and biting everybody who upset me.
For a child, an imaginary friend is as good as another play partner, maybe even a better one. This is because you can control your imagination and turn your imaginary friend into a perfect one. The imaginary friend is always there when you need him; he can change whenever you don’t like him and he will never upset you as long as you don’t give him the opportunity to.
I can tell that for parents this can be very frustrating and they may worry a lot but children are known to be very selfish at a certain stage in their life. The children have to be understood and parents have to know that this phase in their life is a way for them to adapt. Further more parents may find out important clues and details about what the children are feeling, what their fears and troubles are if they pay attention to their children’s imaginary conversations.