Does Your Child Have An Imaginary Friend?

If your child interacts with an invisible playmate, he or she is not alone or crazy. By the age of seven more than 60 percent of children have had at least one imaginary friend. Although not seen by grownups, the friend may be personified in a doll or stuffed animal. Some of these friends may reside constantly with your child while others simply drop by once in a while for a visit.

Sometimes an imaginary friend gets blamed for things that the child did. For example, my son’s imaginary friend named Peter got blamed for not picking up his wet towel and swimsuit after a visit to my mom’s pool one summer. It was actually my son who didn’t pick up his towel and swimsuit. Peter somehow missed getting in our car when we left Mom’s that day. I must have said something to discourage my son because when I refused to go back and pick up Peter, my son never mentioned his friend again. If I had it to do over, I would have turned around and drove back to Mom’s to get my son’s friend. When he was about five years old, my son’s son, Sidney, had sword battles with a group of playmates he called the Onks.

Is the invisible playmate contrived in the child’s mind or is having an imaginary friend a trait of a child who is interacting with the spirit realm? I’m inclined to believe that it is a sign that the child is in touch with his or her inner guidance.

When I was a child I had a little yellow duck. My duck sat next to me at the table, took rides on my bike, listened to all my secrets, and went everywhere I went. I left the duck in my grandmother’s lap when I was about five or six years old. I forgot about him until I was 40 years old. When I was going through a very difficult time in 1999, I dreamed of my little yellow duck. In the dream, my duck asked me if he could come back and I said yes. The next time I saw my grandmother I asked her if she still had my duck. I expected that she might have completely forgotten about him, but to my surprise she said, “Yes, I still have him. I’ve been waiting for you to come back to get him.” I thought she was just playing along with me as she pretended to transfer him to me, but things in my life changed after that incident. I found that the voice of my internal guidance was turned up a notch. I began hearing wise and logical advice in my head that led me to make decisions that were remarkably healing for me. Looking back on my imaginary friend, I now realize that my yellow duck was one of my spirit guides.

Some children speak in an unknown language with their imaginary friends. My step-granddaughter had an Asian-sounding language that she used before she learned to speak English. She called me Ho-Ho, and while I wasn’t sure whether she was equating me with Santa, I sensed that she and I had been together in a past life in which we shared this language.

If your child has an imaginary friend, there is no reason to be upset. Whether or not your child’s playmate is a spirit guide, it is a natural and positive experience for your child to enjoy these invisible friendships. They give a child confidence when in a frightening or unfamiliar situation, such as the first day of kindergarten. As Sidney demonstrates in “You Can Be” and “A Powerful Potion” (stories in The Sid Series), children try out different roles of authority with their imaginary friend and may become the teacher, mother, father, doctor, or zoo keeper!

It’s fun to observe a child interacting with an imaginary friend. Listen to their conversations. They may be telling you something about themselves or working out a problem or stressful situation. Always encourage your child’s developing imagination and never discount the possibility that your child may be receiving inner guidance that will serve him well all his life.

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For more information, you might enjoy reading the complete book More Than Meets the Eye True Stories about Death, Dying, and Afterlife. Purchase on Amazon.com

Introduction to More Than Meets the Eye

There are many commonly held views regarding death and the existence of an afterlife. Some Westernized Americans view death as a fearful tragedy, the end of a life, a sad finality. Most view it as a separation between the physical and non-physical realms. In contrast, the Ancients grieved when a baby was born and rejoiced when someone died. Regardless of our religion or culture, most of us are curious about where we came from, and what our existence after death might hold.

Our physical body is not who we are. It is only the container or vehicle for our soul. When we see someone riding a bus we know that they still exist even when they get off. It’s the same with us. We exist regardless of whether we have a physical body or not. Like photosensitive eyeglasses that turn dark in the sun or transparent in the dark, a soul may choose to alter its expression or change its appearance in order to better suit its needs. Removing the limitations of a gravity-bound human body allows the soul to travel in spirit form and complete tasks in another dimension. Be assured that if your loved one has passed on, they are in spirit form and they have work to do in other worlds and realms. They are likely to be near you even though you may be unaware of their presence.

I was raised in a Southern Baptist home and continued in a fundamental religion until I was forty years old. You may be wondering how someone who was raised in such a dogmatic environment ever came to believe in reincarnation. I have to admit I was adamantly opposed to the idea when a friend of mine first mentioned it. She recommended a book by Elizabeth Clare Prophet titled Reincarnation: The missing Link in Christianity. After reading the book, I saw with new eyes, the many references to reincarnation throughout the Bible and became even more curious. I began researching and found more information that seems to indicate that we are eternal souls with ongoing missions; that time exists only on earth; and that everything is happening simultaneously. It dawned on me that being in human form is only one way we progress spiritually on our path back to our Creator.

As most people do, I’ve always believed in angels. As a child, I interacted with what is often believed to be “imaginary playmates” and thought nothing strange of it. As a teenager, I continued to be a spiritual seeker, but as I became an adult, my curiosity and openness to the spirit world caused me to feel like a misfit. Questioning the dogma and legalistic practices dictated by the clergy, I was cast out of several churches that adhered to a rigid, traditional belief system. I finally realized that I was never going to fit into a mainstream denomination. Against my first husband’s approval, and in spite of his fearful warnings about what I might be getting into, I began attending churches that were more accepting of spiritual phenomenon. A few years after being “baptized in the Holy Spirit” in a Pentecostal church, my ability to sense the presence of an angel or spirit increased. At times, I was afraid of what I was experiencing and thought that maybe these were the “demons” my religious instruction had warned me about—or perhaps I was going crazy! The church I was attending taught spiritual warfare tactics, so I began doing battle with these entities, using Bible scripture and commanding them to leave me or other people alone! All the while, day visions and night dreams were becoming more conversational and involved more loving beings who had no intent to harm me. I started listening more and battling less.

In 1988, my grandfather died. He began coming to me in my dreams and sharing his experience in the Afterlife. He even gave me helpful advice regarding a problem I was having with my daughter. I followed his advice and the problem was quickly solved. In 2000, my life fell apart and I began to challenge the belief system I had held. I began researching church history and other religions. I explored other spiritual paths to see what they had to say about spirits, angels and afterlife. Slowly, I learned to trust my inner guidance and as a result, I embraced a more compassionate approach to dealing with the deceased spirits who kept finding their way to me. Many were afraid and confused souls. Now I know they wanted help in finding the Light of God and crossing over to the Other Side.

After I read Sylvia Browne’s book, Past Lives, Future Healing, I knew reincarnation was not only possible, but that the theory of cellular memory was very credible. After having a past-life regression with a Karma Releasing audio tape by Doreen Virtue, I was convinced that I had lived many times on earth. Today, I never doubt it. Memory of my past lives actually helped me resolve some unfinished business and clarify my present journey.

The point of this book is not to persuade you that one way is correct or incorrect, or to create a new doctrine, but rather to offer information and insight that may assist you in creating your own beliefs about this mysterious process of transitioning back to God/Source. Many people refuse to consider any explanation that doesn’t match the viewpoints they already own. If you are convinced ahead of time (like I was years ago) that something is or isn’t true, you will be tempted to find data that substantiates your belief. Therefore, I encourage you to keep an open mind and consider the ideas presented in this book as if you were in your car, curiously trying out a new road to see where it might lead. You may find that it brings you to a new or better understanding of death and afterlife. You may discover a road less traveled, and realize it was running parallel to your familiar route all along. Perhaps you, too, will see more than meets the eye.