Oh, That Wormy!

October 2009

Wormy
The crazy antics of CB's imaginary friend are quite incredible.

Just today, Wormy painted himself blue, dressed himself up in snow clothes, stole the tire off of our car so he could build his own car, and used CB's money all day long!

Asking the question, "Where is Wormy?" is pretty much guaranteed to receive an interesting answer.
* On the roof.
* In my bed-he thinks it's bedtime!
* He was in my orange juice. He got out before I drank it. Now he needs a bath. He is orange and sticky.
* In my shoe.

Wormy wants to be a cow for Halloween. Very badly.

Wormy can count to 10.

Wormy can't whistle.

Wormy's favorite color is red.

Wormy is allergic to fruties.

Wormy has a sister (but if I want to know her name, I have to ask Wormy...)

Wormy usually sleeps under the rug. Sometimes, he sleeps standing up on his ear.

Wormy was trying to make a rainbow. With wood and paint, and a saw and a hammer.

Wormy doesn't stay the same. He keeps changing into different animals. He changes into a zebra and into a panda. "That's because he's active!"

He is definitely the silliest worm that I have ever heard of.

Noisy Troublemaker
Wormy has the reputation of a noisy trouble maker. It is a well deserved reputation.

"Wormy was hammering during cuddle time. He was so loud! Did he break your idea to sleep?

Wormy is also the first contagious imaginary friend that I have ever heard of. He often causes trouble at a friend's house, where Em informed her mother, "Wormy doesn't have to listen to you. He belongs to *CB*." So I had to give the mother a heads up when *CB* informed me that Wormy will be having "10 sleepover days with Em. All the way to Christmas!"

I Wonder
I do not know what Wormy looks like to CB because her descriptions change. He is usually purple, but often paints himself or just changes color for the time being. He also dresses up as different things such as a cowboy and an astronaut.

Personally, I envision a Potato Head inspired creature with as many changeable parts as made possible by my daughter's imagination. So, limitless.

A Note on Imaginary Friends
Research shows (not my words below):
http://family.go.com/parenting/pkg-preschool/article-826297-the-real-reasons-kid-create-imaginary-friends-t/

* Most of the time, imaginary friends spring not from a place of shadows but of sunlight. The creation of an imaginary friend often comes from free time to create.

* 65% of children in the study up to age 7 reported having imaginary friends at some point in their young lives.

* The kids who are choosing to create imaginary friends tend to be more sociable and to have more friends than other children.

* It has been theorized that children with imaginary companions may develop language skills and retain knowledge faster than children without them, which may be because these children get more linguistic practice while carrying out "conversations" with their imaginary friends than their peers get.

* Imaginary companions are an integral part of many children's lives. They provide comfort in times of stress, companionship when they're lonely, someone to boss around when they feel powerless, and someone to blame for the broken lamp in the living room. Most important, an imaginary companion is a tool young children use to help them make sense of the adult world.