Imaginary Friends: Creativity And Emotional Development
Do you remember when you were very little? Do you remember your fantasies? All those characters that inhabited your world? All those colors? Over time, we go from living in a world of dreams to getting deeper and deeper into “reality”.
We look for logical explanations of what surrounds us, we stop seeing beyond what is established and we even stop creating alternative realities. We stop dreaming. Gone then is the impossible, because the adult world tells us that it is no longer good for anything and that focusing on the outside, on the real, is the only important thing.
Children, especially those between the ages of 2 and 6, can fantasize about having an imaginary friend. And no, there is no problem with it. In fact, it has been shown to help them develop their emotions and their creativity, thus learning to appreciate the world in a more sensitive and empathetic way.
It helps them express their joys, their fears, the things that worry them, and even their deepest desires.
Imaginary friends can be a mirror with which you can speak to those voices that are in your mind and that you cannot yet recognize as your own thinking. Thus, a dialogue is established that is externalized and that allows them to formulate ideas and develop them for that other character they have created.
Children are aware of the real world, but at these ages they still have a hard time assimilating and accepting it as it is. Thus, imaginary friends can represent their values, their logic, and their perception of the environment. They are something like a rehearsal of everyday life, being able to recreate situations or problems to solve. It is a projection of the limitlessness of your logic.
Even mothers and fathers can take advantage of this situation on certain occasions for the benefit of their children, helping them to:
– Correct behaviors while preserving their self-esteem: “Tell your friend not to touch the hot pot because it burns” or “tell him not to take Mom’s things without permission.”
– Console and accompany in a symbolic way, so that the little one learns to do things on their own.
– Put in it positive or negative aspects of their own and others, thus facilitating the understanding and development of emotional intelligence.
– Teach rules or model habits through games: “Let’s teach your friend how to brush his teeth after dinner”
But when can it be a problem?
In the vast majority of cases it is just a passing stage of magical thinking, but we can be observers in its evolutionary process, without judging or repressing your imagination. Nor can we invent an imaginary friend for them, it is the children themselves who must carry out the creation process.
It can be a problem when it prevents them from fulfilling their daily life tasks or commitments. Although there may be many reasons behind the fact.
If we observe that the child has become withdrawn and does not relate to others or if he has acquired a more aggressive behavior because of his imaginary friend, we have to be vigilant. In these cases, seeking the help of a specialist is the best option to treat the problem.
Otherwise, there is no reason to be alarmed. As imaginary friends come, they eventually go away. Each child is a world and infinite imagination. In fact, it is one of the best tools to better understand the world when we are older.
Now and thanks to new technologies, we can keep a memory of those wonderful friends that our childish mind or that of our children creates. We can make children’s fantasy, imagination and creativity come true, keep a piece of that fictional companion that guided our steps and our dreams.
Images provided by @moyupi
