Invisible Animals and Chatty Milk Cartons: How Imaginary Friends Can Enhance Our Minds

Source of the image, John M Lund Photography Inc via Getty Images Author, Isobel Heywood Title of the author, BBC Future Publication date November 11, 2026, 13:58 GMT Updated 12 minutes Reading time: 8 min During my childhood, I had many wonderful friendships, but one group in particular left an indelible mark. Capin, Mia, and Hannah were my best friends from a very young age, and I remember many happy moments together. On hot summer days, we would spend hours making daisy chains, looking for clouds with curious shapes, and practicing somersault tricks. We were an inseparable quartet, although not the conventional kind: Capin, Mia, and Hannah were products of my imagination. But I didn't create them because I felt lonely, shy, or lacked friends in real life. In fact, so many years later, I still don't know where they came from or why. Whatever the origin of my friends, research on imaginary friends suggests that I was lucky to have them. Source of the image, Isobel Heywood Caption, When I was little, the three best friends of Isobel Heywood were characters she had created in her mind. The charming carton of milk. According to psychologists Naomi Aguiar and Marjorie Taylor from the University of Oregon in the United States, when children turn seven, two-thirds of them have had an imaginary friend—a character they create and interact with or talk to regularly. "These children do not have fewer friends than other children; they have the same number of reciprocal friendships as children without imaginary friends. And the reality that the data shows is that they are like other children in almost every aspect," says Aguiar, psychologist and author of "Imaginary Friends and the People Who Create Them." "Many children create imaginary friends because they are fun and because they enjoy social interactions very much," she states. More read and continue reading More read End of More read However, according to research, these fictional beings can offer benefits that go far beyond simple companionship. Children with imaginary friends can excel as creative storytellers, be less shy, be more interested in fantasy, have a greater capacity for concentration, use screens less, and have more vivid mental images than children without imaginary friends. Source of the image, Getty Images/BBC Caption, Imaginary friends usually appear when a child is alone, not due to deep loneliness, but simply because they would like company at that moment, says Aguiar. According to Aguiar, each imaginary friend is unique to the child who creates them and often personalizes themselves to adapt to the changing whims and needs that arise throughout childhood. One of her favorite examples is the case of a girl who had an invisible carton of milk as a friend. The carton of milk taught her what it meant to not be human, and she taught the milk box what it meant to be human, Aguiar says. My imaginary friends appeared when I was around 3 years old. Hannah and Mia are inspired by two girls from a ballet movie. They never walked; they only jumped, bounced, and spun in a constant cycle of ballet sequences, and they wore matching pale pink leotards, tutus, and ballet slippers. But I have no idea where Capin came from. He was older than the three of us, with an air of sophistication that materialized in a gray cloud that followed him. He used to stay on the sidelines, offering reflective advice when necessary. Learning about other minds "For me, the most important part of an imaginary companion is the creation of the mind and the interaction with that mind," says Paige Davis, Associate Professor of Developmental Psychology and Psychopathology at the University of Leeds, in the United Kingdom. Some are based on real people or personified objects, and others materialize in the form of an animal or fantasy creature. Source of the image, Getty Images/BBC Caption, Research suggests that children with imaginary friends may have a more developed level of empathy and social understanding. Marta Giménez-Dasí, from the University of Valencia in Spain, and her colleagues discovered that children between the ages of 4 and 6 who had imaginary friends scored higher than children who did not have them in tests of theory of mind and emotional understanding; that is, they were able to understand that people have beliefs, desires, and intentions different from their own. It is not clear whether this emotional understanding is a result of cultivating imaginary companions, or if the opposite is true, and whether children who are interested in the minds of others are more likely to create companions. Practicing friendship Davis and her colleagues investigated whether the benefits of having imaginary friends extended beyond neurotypical children. According to Davis, autistic children form and maintain successful friendships, but their way of communicating and understanding social and emotional relationships is often different from that of their neurotypical peers, which can impact those relationships. Furthermore, they often participate in imaginative play in a slightly different way, engaging in activities such as drawing instead of simulation games, Davis says. Taken together, this suggests they might be less inclined to create imaginary friends. However, when Davis interviewed the parents of 124 autistic children, she discovered that 49% of the participants reported that their child had created an imaginary friend between the ages of one and eleven. According to experts, through these relationships, children with autism have the opportunity to practice social interactions that may be difficult for them. Source of the image, Getty Images/BBC Caption, Experts state that constant and repeated conversations and interactions with an invisible entity that has its own mind can help autistic children understand the fundamentals of social interactions. "Creating an imaginary companion can be a safe forum for exploration," says Tracy Gleason, a psychology professor at Wellesley College in the United States. "Parents of autistic children who created an imaginary friend reported feeling that their child had a better theory of mind than the parents of those who did not," says Davis, "and they also had a much greater interest in spending time with them or making new friends." Imaginary friendships can also help children begin to develop their boundaries, understand their comfort levels, learn to handle difficult conversations, and establish common ground to solve a problem. Aguiar gives the example of a child who has a friend at school who constantly steals his favorite truck. "Perhaps his imaginary friend is also stealing his favorite truck," she says. Through his imaginary friend, the child can yell, apologize, and then reach a mutual agreement. "It is appropriate for his age because the child is directing the (problem-solving)," says Aguiar. Friends for life? "I think many people have the impression that (imaginary friendships) are something exclusive to early childhood and are not part of development," says Gleason. "But they do occur in adolescence and adulthood." In a recent study, which is still under peer review, Gleason discovered that many adults had imaginary friends. 68% of the 56 participants who claimed to have an imaginary friend had created it before the age of 20. Around 30% of participants said they had created it in adulthood. Source of the image, Getty Images/BBC Caption, As some children grow, their imaginary companion can transform into the next topic they are addressing in their development, says Gleason. According to Gleason, adults create imaginary friendships for various reasons, ranging from companionship and social support to intellectual simulation, motivation, affection, emotional intimacy, advice, moral problem-solving, and just for fun and to relieve the daily stress of adult life. "It's a bit about navigating society, being part of a group, being good at your job," says Gleason, suggesting they can help adults practice work-related situations. "They also help you grow and evolve while giving you the opportunity to become who you want to be and live that life," she adds. While some imaginary friends say goodbye at the end of childhood, others remain by our side and offer their help at every stage of life. Capin, Mia, and Hannah provided me with excellent company, and perhaps they helped me recognize my questions about my personal development, which I didn't realize needed an answer. But when I was around 9 years old, as my adolescence approached, Capin, Mia, and Hannah disappeared and left me alone to manage things on my own. As we imagine ourselves now snuggled together in the garden, watching the clouds ripple around each other, a wave of warmth floods my chest. I know that the impressive sequences of pirouettes by Hannah and Mia belong to the past. As for Capin, it is difficult to know if he will return. Perhaps in the future I will need his guidance. And I have a feeling that if that were to happen, he would be there for me, with his aura of wisdom. This article was originally written in English and we used an artificial intelligence tool to translate it. A BBC journalist reviewed the text before its publication. More information on how we use AI. Download the new BBC World Service app. Choose BBC News Mundo and receive news, documentaries, and analysis alerts, all in one place. Important: the new app is not available in the UK or the United States. You can also follow us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, and on our WhatsApp channel. And don't forget to subscribe here to our newsletter to receive a special selection of our best content every Friday.