Overheard two moms at the playground talking about their kids' imaginary friends

One said her daughter's friend 'only shows up when she's bored' and the other said hers 'disappeared after they moved houses.' Made me wonder if there's a writing prompt in how we invent characters to fill the quiet spaces in our lives. Anyone else find story ideas in random kid talk like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

rowanw9110h ago

Huh I always thought imaginary friends were random but this totally reframes how I see them as storytelling.

nathan_kim9h ago

Totally changes how you see childhood play lol

morganl714h ago

You said "totally reframes how I see them as storytelling" and honestly, I think that's kind of backwards in a way. Imaginary friends aren't really about storytelling yet for most kids under 5 or 6 - it's more like they're practicing social roles and conversations. Storytelling comes later, when they start actually building narratives around the friend. Little kids mostly just boss the friend around or blame things on it, not spin elaborate tales.