Educational psychologist Karen Majors interviewed six children agedbetween five and ten and their parents, as well as adults who gaveretrospective accounts of their imaginary childhood companions.
All the children had more than one imaginary friend, with, in somecases, each meeting a different purpose. Six-year-old Luke invented afriendly duck when he went through a stage of not liking swimminglessons. Luke said, 'I was swimming a width and I thought I would doanother one with my imaginary friend. I needed it to be a swimming oneso I chose a duck.'
Ms Majors found that an only child or a much older sibling was morelikely to have imaginary friends, as were children with some specialneeds, including autism and Down's syndrome. It was common for thecompanions to be created when a brother or sister was born.
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Unlimited access to news and opinion
-
Email newsletter providing activity ideas, best practice and breaking news
Already have an account? Sign in here
