Oh yes LNEsMom, I too have the super-imaginative child living here! Throughout preschool, which was a play based program, they made use of it first by writing down the stories she dictated and then by having the kids act out them out when she moved on to writing plays. She was always VERY sincere in her storytelling/believing. We took a Baltic cruise when she was 4 1/2 and she wore a crown every single day. When we visited castles she gave me tours because she "used to live here." The actor playing the king at Dover Castle was thrown totally off his game when she ran up to him and said "Father - don't tell me you don't remember my name!" We learned to say "princess" in every language across Northern Europe that summer
I think it was while she was dealing with grief over her grandfather's death that her first imaginary friend appeared. Everyone told me it was a great coping mechanism. That first friend, her "daughter named Sunflower”, stuck around for about 3 years. She was eventually joined by 96 others and DD would proudly tell people that she was "Princess DD" and she had 97 children. She would scold them, chase them and console them when they too lost a beloved family member. It was sweet, touching and at times a bit scary. I still make sure that I listen to hear DD do both voices when she is engaged in an imaginary conversation - I just want to make sure she isn't actually hearing voices in her head because it seems so real to her sometimes.
I explained to her that she has to be very, VERY careful about not telling me the truth because if even 1 time she lies to me she can't expect me to believe her when she is telling the truth. We discussed the difference between make believe and lying and it really hasn't been a problem. In fact she is VERY precise with her language and I have had to defend her from a punitive teacher in the past who accused her of lying. (Interestingly each time I was able to uncover the facts that showed she was indeed being truthful. That sort of ticked the teacher off...)
One time last year during her terrible kindergarten year she got in trouble for not coming immediately at the end of recess. She explained that she and her 2 friends were playing a game and the "bad guys" had her tied to a railroad track when the teacher gave them the signal that recess was over. "Mommy I tried and tried - really I did. But I just couldn't break the ropes. I got there as soon as I could." I went right into the fantasy game with her and told her that whatever game she is playing the teacher's signal is the magic potion that will break her free. It can get her out of any jail, ropes, dungeon, well or any other place she is being held. That totally solved the problem.
She doesn't do the same sort if intense imaginative play now that she is 7. She is enrolled in 2 acting classes, though, so she may be expressing it there. It's also hard to find other kids that can get into it so deeply with her. If I ask her questions now she usually says "Mom you do realize this is make believe - right?" They are starting to do some creative writing at school. She is dysgraphic but comes up with really great stories very quickly. I actually have a meeting this afternoon with our newly hired educational consultant to discuss how to approach this with the school. She obviously has a talent for writing even if she can't write - if that makes any sense.
So I would say enjoy it, write down the stories and keep them someplace to treasure later. We were lucky that DD never got scared by the imaginative stuff - for her it was just about all fun (or sometimes a coping mechanism). Anything scary became a chance to empower her - she could stand up to them herself or she could let me loose on them. She seems to think that I am a pretty formidable opponent and NO ONE would dare hurt my kid...
