Many children have, at some point, had an imaginary friend. 46% according to one study (Pearson, Rouse, Doswell, Ainsworth, Dawson, et al., 2001).
But what I want to know is: do kids ever have imaginary enemies?
References
D Pearson, H Rouse, S Doswell, C Ainsworth, O Dawson, K Simms, L Edwards, J Faulconbridge (2001). Prevalence of imaginary companions in a normal child population Child. Care, Health and Development. 27 (1), 13–22.
7 comments:
The Devil?
The 'thing' under the bed?
Yes, good point. Although are those entirely equivalent...imaginary friends are supposed to be quite vivid and persistent and they interact with them a lot, and the thing under the bed just stays under the bed.
Why are you now adding further conditions onto your question? I also thought of the bad spirits or monsters which would try to grab me from under the bed. The interaction was as real to me as an imaginary friend, just not as verbal. But i would talk to them and tell them to leave me alone. There was also some nasty little ghost at my old house that filled me with terror every time i went down that part of the house. Found out later the previous owners had a mentally ill child down there and also an old woman died. I would go white every time i went down there. It was imaginary but entirely effective in its intent to me.
Ganesha
Oh and there is a reference to this very thing in Press Gang in which Colin's imaginary friend would bully him when he didnt pay him.
Ganesha
Ah well. If it was in Press Gang, I can't argue with that.
Yup, you cant mess with the Press
And what happens to those poor imaginary friends who get left behind? Is there foster care for them? Do they live on the streets? Will the government pay for a nice group home?
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