Q. We have two children (both four-year-olds) currently in our nursery who each have an imaginary friend. One child just uses her friend in her pretend play: chatting and involving the friend in domestic role play in the home corner. We realise that many young children have an imaginary friend, so we do not see this automatically as a problem. However, the second child really seems to need his 'friend' to speak up for him. His father is getting worried that his son can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality.
A. You are right in saying that quite a few young children have imaginary friends. My parents told me I had an imaginary friend who lived in the tree at the end of our road! The 'friends' usually disappear around five or six years of age.
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