cut off age for imaginary friend

[MudPhud20XX]

FA 2015 says, you can have imaginary friends by 4 yrs old, but FC says the below:

It is normal for children to have imaginary friends from ages 2-6. In the absence of other concerning signs (e.g. violent command hallucinations, genital trauma, etc.), do not be fooled by question stems into thinking this behavior is indicative of psychosis, abuse, or other pathology.

So is the cut off age for imaginary friend 4 or 6?

Many thanks in advance.

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[MudPhud20XX]

Anyone?

 

[tasar1898]

I think that in general all these milestones are ranges so you gotta be more lenient . As long as the kid is functioning (ie has normal friends , socializes , good grades etc... ) let him have 100 imaginary friends . Who cares?? 4 , 6 , 8 ,10yo whatever.. I remember reading somewhere that its ok to have these ''friends'' even in your adulthood ...

 

[PaxRoma]

Imaginary friends are normal development from 2yr - 6yr of age. Most children abandon this behavior within the first few years of elementary school.

 

[Phloston]

I was thinking around 5. So I'd put 6 at the upper end of normal.

 

[masaraksh]

While we're on the topic of children. What are the USMLE cut-off ages for spanking?

 

[tasar1898]

haha , no cut-off --> Apply force until kid is ''properly functioning''

 

[worldbeater]

lol great pic.

There is a question I got wrong for an imaginary friend. I don't remember the exact details and answers, but it was a 5 year oldish girl who's grandmother passed away, and she would always talk to her before going to bed for a couple months. They put a bunch of psychiatric conditions as options and I think the correct answer was "normal behavior", which I thought was a little odd. Anybody can correct me if they know what question I am talking about.

 

[tasar1898]

Sounds like normal grief to me..

 

[worldbeater]

Sounds like normal grief to me..

Yeah, maybe, I don't know, it just didn't seem obvious to me.

There is another question in UWorld that talks about a teenage girl that cries about going out to party, saying she looks hideous, and is fine one day later, and then she wears a swimsuit underneath her gown when visiting her doctor. They give options of anorexia nervosa, bulimia, body dysmorphic disorder (which I picked), and then normal adolescent behavior. The answer was..normal adolescent behavior. Same type of set up question, didn't seem obvious (to me at least), they have these type of questions probably to make sure physicians aren't over diagnosing patients.

 

[jl lin]

These are ranges, and they will varying based on the individual child. Simple as that.
Teen girls are usually especially sensitive. God forbid when if they should need a pelvic exam or such. And in such cases, they usually want a female physician or nurse examining them if they must be examined.

I know normal females in their 20's that insist entirely on having only a female OBGYN. I think this is a little, tiny bit neurotic, b/c I am the kind of person that looks at the whole person and if they are qualified and gentle and understanding enough w/ patients and respected and knowledgeable, that is what is important to me. My experience is that many male OBGYNs are, and that's it's a totally individual thing. But in order to make the patient comfortable, and do what needs to be done, you go along with their requests.

In fact, w/ certain physicians, the male OBGYN maybe indeed be more gentle and sensitive. Some people, regardless of gender, just do a very harsh and uncomfortable job with this kinds of examinations. It really depends upon the person/doc.

But anyway teen girls or even post-adolescent females often enough share their somewhat neurotic feelings with each other and greatly influence each other. "I am afraid and do not want a male OBGYN touching me." And their friends take on that attitude w/o processing it through. So social influences can make a difference too.

 

[tasar1898]

Hahaha i remember this question , picked normal behavior because it was EXACTLY a snapshot of the life of my 13-year old sister..