[Jason S]

I've got a young daughter with an old soul and an active imagination. Like many others, she has a team of imaginery friends who often come to visit. Over time, my wife and I have noticed that one of her friends is not like the others: this friend comes and go as she pleases, walks through walls/vanishes, can see and respond to others in the house, and talks in her own "voice." My daughter will very casually talk about how this friend is an angel who comes to visit at night, and consistently acknowledges that all her friends are figments of her imagination except for this one, who is her own person (even though she is still invisible to everyone else).

This "friend" loves our family (we laugh a lot), and has started bringing others along (4 others so far that I am aware of).

If my daughter has a gift, I don't want to squash it--what a wonderful thing! But at the same time, I don't want to make her feel like she needs to make things up to appease me. There are other issues at play here, too... like who is this presence and who are the others? Is this an angelic presence or ghost who needs help? Etc.

My wife and I are treading lightly here... it's like looking at one of those 3D computer images together, and having our daughter say, "Oh, I can see it, it's an angel!" while we can't confirm or disconfirm because we can't see it. It can be a little unnerving!

Anyone have any insights or suggestions?