Eva came home from school last week and told me that her boyfriend was going to come over for a play date and that he would probably sleep over.
“Oh really? I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. And a sleepover? I’m not too sure about that. Can you tell me a little bit about Ben before he comes over?” I asked.
Here is was I found out about Ben:
He is 7 years old (older? hmm?).
He has brown hair, a dog named Sparky and a cat named Squirt.
He has 2 brothers; Jack is younger and Joshua is older.
He has 2 sisters; Nicole is younger and Avery is older.
His dad’s name is Mike. His mom’s name is Christy.
He is 7 years old (older? hmm?).
He has brown hair, a dog named Sparky and a cat named Squirt.
He has 2 brothers; Jack is younger and Joshua is older.
He has 2 sisters; Nicole is younger and Avery is older.
His dad’s name is Mike. His mom’s name is Christy.
She taped a picture that she drew of them onto the fridge
(Ben is pretty short for a seven year old…)
Then she told me the most important thing I needed to know about Ben.
he is invisible
I told her that Ben was welcome to come for dinner but we would need to discuss the sleepover.
Once Sean came home we told him all about Ben. The last thing I told him was that Ben was Eva’s imaginary friend. She swiftly and firmly corrected me “Mommy?!? He is INVISIBLE not imaginary! Imaginary means he’s not real and Ben is real. You just can’t see him.”
Woops. My bad.Since then Ben has spent a lot of time at our place. He comes over regularly.
Here’s a pic of Eva and Ben watching tv:
Once Sean came home we told him all about Ben. The last thing I told him was that Ben was Eva’s imaginary friend. She swiftly and firmly corrected me “Mommy?!? He is INVISIBLE not imaginary! Imaginary means he’s not real and Ben is real. You just can’t see him.”
Woops. My bad.Since then Ben has spent a lot of time at our place. He comes over regularly.
Here’s a pic of Eva and Ben watching tv:
And just last night Ben came over with Avery (the older sister). Here they are with the snowman they made:
Poor Cuyler spend about 5 minutes looking for a kid named Ben. It took him awhile before he understood. He even tried grabbing the air in front of him to see if he could feel Ben after he realized Ben cannot be seen.
He gets it now and just ignores any and all talk of Ben. His confusion soon turned to disappointment that a kid named Ben wouldn’t be hanging out at our house.
Should I be worried that she’s created such an elaborate invisible friend with such a big invisible family?Has your child had an imaginary (or invisible) friend?
How did you handle it and how long did it last for?
He gets it now and just ignores any and all talk of Ben. His confusion soon turned to disappointment that a kid named Ben wouldn’t be hanging out at our house.
Should I be worried that she’s created such an elaborate invisible friend with such a big invisible family?Has your child had an imaginary (or invisible) friend?
How did you handle it and how long did it last for?
I had an invisible friend when I was little. I remember my parents just going along with it all! I also got married in grade 2. Even my teacher went along with it. So glad that no one bursted my bubble! Ben seems like he’s a nice boy. 🙂
My husband had 2 “invisible” friends for years his mother told me and my sister’s daughter has “Tasha” who lives far away but stops in regularly to have some fun and get blamed for a lot of mischief. My kids never had them but I think it is an amazing, creative and very natural experience for a child. Plus, look at how much fun Eva and Ben are having!
My imaginary friends were Donny and Marie. I kid you not. Very normal. Very age appropriate. 🙂