I am the imaginary friend..

June 18, 2007

…of this pretty, four-year-old girl.

Her name is Rona. I met her only once, months ago, when she was brought to the office by her aunt who is a friend of mine. It was only last Sunday that I was told I've become her "pretend friend" since she first met me. My friend said Rona would pretend she's an office girl and tell her mom that her friend, Bea, is waiting for her at the office. Sometimes she would pretend talking to me on her toy telephone, eating with me at the dinner table, or simply just playing with me. Yes, she also takes me to school with her and "we" do her homeworks together. I have no idea why she made me her imaginary friend heheh.

Is having an imaginary friend normal for a child? What do imaginary friends do? I have read from an article that this is a normal phase in the life of a child. Contrary to others' belief that a child with an imaginary friend is peculiar, shy, or even troubled,  the truth is he or she tends to be less shy than other children. "They are also better able to focus their attention and to see things from another person's perspective," the article said.

An imaginary friend—
- provides companionship
-allows the child to play creative games
-encourages a child to be brave in trying out different ways of doing things
-helps a child to practice getting along with others
-helps a child to deal with stress, fear, anger, and other strong feelings.

Can an imaginary friend become a problem? Yes—
-if the child uses his or her friend to avoid something he or she doesn't want to do
-if the child thinks he or she can get away from trouble because when something goes wrong "the friend did it"

I wonder if I ever had an imaginary friend when I was a little girl. I'll ask Nanay. Itanong niyo rin sa mga nanay ninyo if you had an imaginary friend .