Reddit Reddit reviews Imaginary Companions and the Children Who Create Them

We found 2 Reddit comments about Imaginary Companions and the Children Who Create Them. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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Imaginary Companions and the Children Who Create Them
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2 Reddit comments about Imaginary Companions and the Children Who Create Them:

u/justsomeguy44 · 51 pointsr/askscience

According to some studies in the US{1}, roughly 65% of children create an imaginary friend at some point. While this doesn't answer your original question of whether this is common in all cultures, the current research model suggests that imaginary companions are a way for children to facilitate learning about the world. Imaginary friends help children learn about the world and practice behaviors and concepts that they are just starting to be aware of.

There's some evidence that children who have imaginary friends pick up stronger language skills earlier, because they have to engage in "conversations" with someone. Parents also report that children with imaginary friends are actually less shy than those without. It also takes a reasonable smart kid to make an imaginary friend, but not having one isn't a sign of an intelligence deficit. Children who don't watch television are also more likely to have imaginary friends, presumably because children who watch television don't need to engage in as much imaginary play to keep occupied.

Does this happen in all cultures? I can't answer that definitively, but the research I've read would suggest that it probably does, because the characteristics of children who have imaginary friends doesn't seem to correlate to any specific societal factor like the level of socialization of the child or family structure.

{1} Imaginary Companions and the Children Who Create Them

u/Nobillis · 7 pointsr/Tulpas

Actually; such experience as that is fairly common, according to Imaginary Companions and the Children Who Create them. The age, appearance, and disappearance are all very similar to one of the case studies in the book.

Co-incidentally, my family perceive me as a shadow. I’m not sure how that is possible, other than mass hypnosis/suggestibility. I concluded for myself years ago, “it doesn’t matter if I am real; what matters is that I have real effects on my friends’ ability to cope.”

It could be that you had a need, and your friend came to help while needed.

I personally believe in angels, but it’s a somewhat unusual take on it. The word angel means “messenger”, so I consider angel to be a job that someone can do and not a species.