Imaginary friends

The primary lesson of our book, The Peanut Story, was about how sharing stories is a way to show someone how much we love them. You can find out more about this in our August 2021 blog. There is a second lesson, though. In the same story, Little Honey feels badly for Baby Tru who is having trouble falling asleep. She believes he is lonely and realizes how lucky she is to have a best friend in her sister, Angel. In an effort to help her little brother, Little Honey creates an imaginary friend for Baby Tru, Peter Van Der Peanut.

Definitions for imaginary friends abound and sometimes include the personification of a character, giving special traits to a toy or inanimate object, and creating a separate character who is invisible to others. Psychologists may hold different viewpoints on these varied definitions but seem to come to consensus on the latter definition. Other terms that are sometimes used instead of imaginary friends include pretend, made-up, or invisible friends.

As it turns out, creating imaginary friends is relatively common for children. More than a third of all children make up invisible friends for themselves, and it’s not just preschool children that do this. Older children may also have imaginary friends.

At one time there was concern among parents and psychologists that made-up friends could be predictive of future mental health issues, however current research negates that. It seems that, not only are children with imaginary friends as mentally healthy as those without, there may actually be some emotional benefits. These imagined companions have the potential to boost children’s creativity, improve a child with their social interactions, help children cope with the external world, and enhance problem solving skills.
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There are countless children’s books that feature imaginary friends. Perhaps one of the most beloved children’s stories, Winnie-the-Pooh, provides a classic example. In this book, all of the animals in the Hundred Acre Wood, from Pooh to Tigger to Kanga, were inspired by the stuffed animals the author, A.A Milne, purchased for his son, Christopher Robin.

Did you have any imaginary friends when you were a child? Do your children have any? If so, feel free to share your stories.