Giuliana & her Imaginary Friends

Giuliana is our first child to have imaginary friends. Their names are Lola, Giga and Maya.

I think she developed these new friendships in February. We first heard a lot about Maya, and in the past month or so, Lola and Giga seem to be her friends of choice.

I'm not exactly sure how she came up with the names. And, she does not actively play with these friends throughout the day. For instance... she would never tell me she *is currently playing* with Lola, Giga or Maya... or that she is even setting a place at the dinner table for one of them. Rather, she will ask if her friends are coming over today. Or, as we are driving by the grocery store, she will tell me that she went to the grocery store last night with Giga. So, I will then ask "well, how did you and Giga get to the grocery store?". She will then tell me something like "Giga's dad drove us to the grocery store."

My theory as to why Giuliana created these friends is that she frequently observes Gabby and Rocco with their friends, or participating in friend-related activities (birthday parties, play dates, etc.), and she wants her own friends too.

Since she is my first child to have an imaginary friend, I've asked a few people if they have ever experienced this with their own child/ren. One mother told me her daughter would go as far as setting extra places at the table for her friends (she was older than Giuliana at the time). This friend also told me that the pediatrician had told her it was a sign of high intelligence, and to just go along with it and and never make fun of it. My friend and I couldn't help but completely agree that OF COURSE our children were brilliant and this must be a sure sign! :))

I must admit, these imaginary friends and the tales that develop can be kind of fun to play along with. Although, it does also present challenges. For instance, Giuliana will ask when Lola or Giga are coming over today. I usually respond that I haven't talked to their parents and I didn't know they were coming over. She will get frustrated, and insist they are coming over and demand I tell her a time. So, I tell her a time and then we try to distract her with other things. And, sometimes, she will say things like "Lola pushed me off the balance beam yesterday." Or, "Giga bit me at school two days ago." Then, I have to explain to her how those behaviors are things that friends and good kids do not do to each other. And, I try to tell her that when those things happen, an adult needs to be told right away so they can help sort out the situation and make sure that Lola and Giga know that they can hurt people by doing stuff like that.

I'm waiting for the day/moment when she tells a stranger (pediatrician, coach, teacher or whoever) a story that involves one of her imaginary friends and how that plays out! So far, she seems to just share her imaginary friends with her family.

Kids are so funny! It will be interesting to see how long she keeps these current imaginary friends.