Daydreaming is a common experience for the majority of people at intervals throughout the day.
However, there are also different trains of thought regarding whether or not this is a useful or harmful pursuit if indulged in to a great extent Daydreaming can sometimes be a way of escaping from a situation which causes stress or unpleasant feelings Some people hold the belief that daydreaming can alter a persons sense of reality. It may be such a distraction that the person can become so occupied with what is going on inside his own head that he becomes gradually more withdrawn and isolated from others and what is going on around him. The person has disappeared into the world of his own imagination.
Children who daydream are sometimes thought to be sad or lonely. They have chosen to escape into a world of fantasy where they can have what they want. The same views are often held regarding children who have imaginary friends.
When one of my children, the third of four started to have an imaginary friend called James, I at first felt quite sad and as though I had let him down. Had I got so involved with my two older children that he was missing out? Very quickly...