Our son had an imaginery friend called "Gwilym" of all names and he was around for around a year. We never knew what form he took and he didn't require a place at the table etc, but our son often spoke to him when playing. We did use him to our advantage on times. Once when our son refused to eat we told him that Gwilym would be here soon and then it would be gone. within minutes the plate was clean. It never bothered us as we knew he'd eventually go away and we often laugh about it now.

How do you know they are invisible friend? they may be invisible to you, but very often children can see spirit. I had an invisible friend when I was a child, he too went away, but to this day I still see and hear spirit. We should not assume that because we can't see something that it isn't there.

I had two of my own. Kaichie and Gooey, funny that I still remember their names. My mother, bless her, would open the car door and lift each one of us out of the car - to the delight of our local butcher! I also had a whole string of horses which I had to round up in the garden before bed....I was a very imaginative child, clearly

My GD had two invisible friends, Tom and Lily. Tom was naughty all the time. Our GD would sometimes get quite distressed saying Tom was hitting her. This went on for about a year. Recently I asked her where Tom and Lily went. She said "we decided to say goodbye because we have busy lives since starting school". To me it was all rather ghostly.

My imaginary girlfriend said I was rubbish in bed. :-(

I have only just seen this thread but it brings to mind two imaginary friends. The first belonged to my brother who had a friend called Jimmy who got into so much mischief but who was very real in my brothers mind. The other one was Peter Hazeley who was for a very long time lived with us as my eldest daughters companion. She would tell me quite earnestly about the conversations that she had had with Peter Hazeley and what they had done when they played together. Some years later my husband and I realised that this was a name that she had picked up from a children's t.v programme and it had quite obviously caught her imagination. I think he was around right up until she started school!

My youngest daughter had an imaginery friend. We relocated and apparently she went to live in Brussels (my husband worked there sometimes). Unfortunatley we sat down to tea one day and the daughter said 'move up Banna's here'. Anyway she lived with us a while and eventually we heard of her less and less. My daughter is now a very well respected psychiatric nurse.

Reported.

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There are such things as angels, you know.

My DS had an imaginary friend when he was about 3 years old. The amount of detail he had for Martha was astonishing. She always wore a pink dress and she had long blonde curly hair. She had no shoes because her mummy and daddy had died in a fire and their house had been destroyed; that's why she lived in our garden. She could only play at certain times of the day because she had to go to work in a factory making cloth. She ate at the table with us but didn't like meat, only bread and vegetables. Funny thing is that when DS was with one of his particular little friends, she used to talk and play with Martha too, in exactly the same way as DS did. I missed Martha when she left!

My great niece had an imaginary frienð when she was around 2 or 3 I think it started . My sister (her gran) was always spooked a little by it for some reason and she was driving along one day with said gd in the backseat when Alyssa said something about Charlie ( the imaginary friend) being in the car. My sister asked where Charlie was and was told " on your knee nana " she almost crashed her car . Charlie was with them for quite a few years and may be even with them now .
Her gd's other grandad was a logical "ghostbuster" so that may be where he came from.

My eldest DD had an imaginary friend called Diarrohea, she never described her but I had to be very careful where I put my feet so I didn't tread on her, especially at the clothes line. Later on Diarrohea was joined by Donny and Buree and the children.

I had an imaginary friend I called Rita, after the real friend of my older playmate, Kathleen. I never told my parents anything about Rita. She lived in the wall of my bedroom, where there was a whole flat (strange that, as we lived in a house). I went in there at night in my imagination, while I was lying in bed trying to sleep and spent time with Rita, her younger brother and her parents, but I don't think they had names. I was four at the time. Rita disappeared when I went to school at five. My little sister's imaginary friend was James, she told us all about him. We never had imaginary animals, we didn't need them, as we had two cats, two dogs, hens and cage-birds. I am sure imaginary friends are quite normal up to the age of eight or thereabouts. I talked to my dolls and teddies who were my children until I was at least twelve.

What a delightful post! It occurs to me that my son and daughter - now grown up - may not have had imaginary friends as such because, living on a farm, there were hand-reared chicks/hens, ponies, sheep, dogs a cat all to hand. However they both had two dozen soft toys each for all of whom they had names and 'stories' so the capacity of the bright young mind for this sort of thing is phenomenal!
My greatest fear had always been that my child might turn out to be a psychopath (now estimated at 1% of the population but very much to the fore in my childhood because of the Moors murders...) and probably genetic and 'incurable'. Nurturing behaviour like this totally rules that out and hence is a delight and bodes well for their ability to be kind.

I had an 'imaginary' (he still feels real to me!) friend called Pixie. I can remember him quite clearly now, dressed just like a pixie should be. One day, not long after my sister was born, he went on holiday. I helped him pack his case and off he went. He never came back.

I am an only child, I hated it and desperately wanted a sibling. I had an imaginary friend and his entire family. His brothers were very naughty and were forever being sent to prison, I wouldn't dare to be badly behaved so I think we can see where that came from.

One of our children, aged about 3, had an imaginary friend in Robin. Robin was there, everywhere we went. There was Robin's chair, Robin's field, Robin's stream, Robin's house and so on. These things existed in their own right, but it was ages before we found out who Robin actually was. One day, while walking in our little town, crossing the river bridge, our son shouted from his buggie, pointing at the sky..."There's Robin. He's flying home!" And there was Robin....a duck! After that, Robin was never mentioned again. Our son is in his 30's now, but we still ask him about Robin, poor man!

My daughter had an imaginary friend who we would have to make a place at the tea table for her. In the car she had to have the middle seat belt, we had to talk to her and ask questions like what would she like for tea, and then my daughter would answer for her. This o lay lasted for a few months, and the 'friend' went away as quickly as she came. She was never spoken about again.

Oh yes, overthehill, she remembers it now. She seems to have inherited the family trait from my side of the family of being a 'sensitive' and has both seen and felt unexplained presences.

Gannyrowe that sounds spooky.
Does she remember it now?

George sounds very similar to my "friend" Gilbert, he had wavy shoulder length blonde hair GannyRowe. Interesting on this thread that it is only or first born children that this seems to be mostly prevailent.

My daughter's invisible friend was George. He hung around for a couple of years! Trouble was when we asked her to describe him, .......he had short trousers that gathered at the knee, long socks, shoes with big silver buckles on the top, long hair a bit like Mummy's (at the time a long pageboy)! He had frilly shirt cuffs, and a big collar etc etc, so much detail, and all from a three year old! The list went on and on and on, and never changed between times we asked either. Sometimes when her sat close beside her it made her feel cold, and sometimes she said she could see through him!!

I to was an only child, I had an imaginery friend call Jacqueline Joyce. I didn't have the best of childhoods so this 'friend' was kept well away from my mother and father, I don't believe they knew she existed, or if they did she was never mentioned.

My own daughter had a couple of 'friends' but they were introduced to the family. When her younger brother was old enough to join in games they were forgotten.

I was an only child and my parents moved about a lot during my early years. I had five pretend children and I was responsible for them and as I was only 5 this was hard work My parents were very worried about my pretend children but when I was six they were replaced by a pretend dog and cat which were far less hard work. By the time I was seven the pretend dog and cat had gone as well. Some children have invisible friends and some don't. My eldest son had a pretend dragon on a chain but the other two didn't have any invisible friends.