Does my child see dead people???

[maplesmom]

First off, I am not sure I believe in any of this... But my 3 year old is constantly telling things that lead me to beleve she can read my mind/ see dead people. Again... pretty sure I don't beleive in that sort of thing... but hear me out!
We were in an abandoned condemed house (to see if we wanted to buy it), and after we left she started sobbing saying that she saw a baby hanging in there, and we have to go back to see him, because he was so nice and wants to talk to her. He missed his mom because she lives far far way. She said he was nice but his face was very scary. She said his dad was the one who hung him. Note- We do not have TV. I am positive she doesn't know what hanging is. She is actually not even 3 yet... I'm pretty sure most 3year olds don't come up with stories.

When asked who is coming to her birthday party, the first person she ALWAYS lists is the ghost who she told me lives upstairs in our attic.

When she was 1 (almost 2) we had bought a grim reaper mask at a yard sale for Halloween. She loved it to bits (it was a very scary mask) named him Nice Guy and refused to nap unless she was holding him.

Many times a day/ week I will be thinking of something totally off subject, like calling friend Kelly etc, and she will say something like "I like kelly". It happens all the time. seems like too often for it to be that what made me think of kelly (or whatever) also made her think of it.

She loves all kinds of off character things. For instance: SHe saw Cinderella at my MILs. She loved the step sisters. Said they turned nice, and she loves them. She likes Scar from lion king. She cried when she found out a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. She said she wished it turned into a slug.

She predicted the date and almost time her brother was going to be born... She was 2.5 yrs old. I was pregnant, and complaining about "when will this baby come out!!!" she just looked at me like "duh" and said "mom, 2 days... 8:30." He was born two days later at 10:30.

So many people say "she is not like any other kid i've met. Something is different"

So.. not sure what my point is... just throwing it all out there. Think its weird.. or is she just off beat. Should I do anything???

The list goes on and on

[Aubergine68]

I've seen threads on similar topics in Spirituality - you may want to ask your questions over there.

My youngest son, 4.5 yr old is, I think, potentially gifted in the same way. I haven't noticed this as much, but his preschool teacher last year told me he is definitely psychic in that he will frequently talk about stuff that is going to happen before it does - like the mail carrier coming in with a package, or Sophie falling on the slide and getting a skinned knee.

He talks about angels, ghosts, and what may be past life experiences ("Mommy, when I was 61 and you were 52, when I was your brother and I lived in the yellow house....") My mother has told me I have to get him to stop talking about this kind of stuff or people will think he has mental health issues. (Thanks mom )

I once dreamed I was trying to outrun a tsunami and woke up with ds shaking me and scolding me "Mom, you run too fast! You have to carry me when you running fast or I will be lost !" ETA This experience made me wonder how much he is actually psychic and how much he is just in tune with me and my feelings.

I could go on and on with the stories, too.

He is no more than average in terms of verbal ability but he seems to try harder than any child I've ever met to express difficult concepts he doesn't have the volcabulary for, and this means he says very odd things. Maybe none of us have the vocabulary for these thoughts. Maybe he just has a really vivid imagination - I haven't ruled that out. I, personally, was never an imaginative child of the sort that had invisible friends, etc. I don't know what that's like.

I listen non-judgementally without making too much fuss over him, document some of it, and try to model and teach him grounding and protective spiritual practices -- meditation and yoga breathing to calm down, drawing pictures to show important thoughts or dream images, prayer when one is scared etc.

[maplesmom]

Thanks.. I think I will cross post on spirituality. Sounds like our kids have very similar traits. It is really strange the things she comes out with as well.

[cappuccinosmom]

She may be intuitive, imaginative, and have an unusual personality. That doesn't mean she's psychic or seeing dead people. Some people are prodigies at picking up on things other people don't notice, or reading clues that others unconsciously give.

I wouldn't do anything in particular. Neither feed into it nor try to stop it.

[eepster]

One day at lunch, a group of co-workers were talking about their wages. I was keeping my mouth shut. At a certain point, one of them said to me "you make X, right?" She was spot on, and I was certainly surprised. She then assured me she wasn't psychic (it wasn't a hard sell, since not really something I believe in.) She explained that she figured that I must make more than the others did, since I was not saying anything, but that it wasn't in a whole different league since I hadn't looked too shock at what they were making, etc.

Usually when some one shows a perception like that, it isn't super natural, but more of a hyper awareness and super perceptive. They are gathering in and analyzing more information than the typical person does. They are noticing the tiniest details and sorting them. I'm sure it is often done on a nearly unconscious level.

[Iucounu]

No, your child does not see dead people. But she does sound like she has an unusual imagination... as well as a liking for slugs.

[karanyavel]

I was that child. And no, I'm not psychic, but I had an extremely vivid imagination filled with "ghosts" that I believed were real. I didn't like sleeping in my crib (at 2 y/o) because "Mr. Toeman" .. a "ghost stuck in the ceiling" was watching me and I was certain he was evil.

I also had an imaginary friend named Mr. Macgillicuddy. He was a black man and I still remember my mom laughing when I told her he had wiped my butt for me after I pooped. Let's just say I needed a bath after that...

We did live in a sort-of creepy old farmhouse from the late 1800s that had been inhabited by some strange people over the years, including an off-balanced guy who tortured cats and painted all of the walls black.

One incident that happened when I was 3 years old I am at a total loss at explaining, however, despite the fact I don't believe in any kind of paranormal stuff. I saw a small boy sitting on our ironing board, wearing a white gown, and looking very pale. Like all of my "imaginary friends" (and enemies like Mr. Toeman), I could see him clearly but he was kind of translucent. He looked very thin and unwell. I spoke with him briefly and he said his name was Donnie.

I described the incident to my mom that day, referring to him as "Danny" (I thought I had misheard because I thought Donnie wasn't a real name). Mom told me there had been a young boy who had been sick for a long time and who had died in the house we lived in. His name was Donnie. She was visibly shaken by what I told her.

I never saw Donnie again, but I was definitely a bit of an oddball like your child seems to be. I was obsessed with the macabre for most of my childhood, and my choice of reading materials no doubt fueled my imagination, but I stopped seeing "ghosts" by the time I was 6 or so.

I'm pretty normal (aside from the whole alternative parenting thing) today. The only really remarkable things about me are my IQ (in the highly gifted range), my creativity (supposedly exceptional, according to tests I was given as an older child) and my very strong family history of severe mental illness, though I'm personally sane (or at least as sane as any parent is).

I believe now that most of my strange experiences as a child were based on my own dreams, which tend to be filled with vivid imagery, often dark and bizarre. I did not realize these were dreams until I was about six years old. During testing for Kindergarten entry, I told the teacher conducting the tests that I did not sleep at night. When she looked confused, I explained that everyone else in the house went to bed and slept, but I stayed awake and watched the very strange things that happened during the night...

In my opinion -- and this comes from a total non-believer in anything not firmly established by science! -- some of what you describe is probably coincidence and other things are probably due to high creativity (and the lack of understanding between real and imaginary at this age). I think there's a good chance your child will grow up to be a highly creative non-conformist, but that's just personal experience speaking (sample size of one).

--K

[AllyRae]

Could you check the news and see if in fact a baby died in that particular house? If no, well, I'm going to guess she just has a very vivid imagination like karanyavel talked about...

[umsami]

Wow...that's very freaky.

I don't know that I belive in ghosts and stuff--but some the stuff you describe does not seem to fit a typical 2-3 year old and their knowledge/life experiences. I'm not sure what I'd do in your case--but I think cappucinosmom is right in that you should neither encourage nor discourage it. I wonder if the Intuitive person (Jane?) might have some advice.

[zinemama]

Sounds like she has a great imagination! I don't think she's seeing ghosts, though.

[IntuitiveJamie]

Well of course I'm going to chime in with the belief that she prob. is seeing entities. But I agree CP about not doing anything in particular about it. Since she's obviously not scared of it, there's no need to acknowledge any fear, which is great. If you are curious you can always engage her in conversation. My child was 2.5 when he was able to tell me how a close family friend died. He was in my womb when it happened and had no reason to know anything about it. And that was that. We didn't delve any further or do anything in particular. It is what it is. I don't wish to do anything about it at this age, b/c it's not all that appropriate. But being an Intuitive myself, obviously I'm open to it and do not wish to squash it either. I'm just letting it play out naturally.

[MadameXCupcake]

Did you ever try and look online or something if anything had happened in the house? It would have been in the news I think.

I cant imagine my 2 1/2 year old to come up with anything like that, not even in the next few months as she gets older.
Hopefully she uses that imagination for lots of exciting play and art.

[Lisa1970]

I have always felt very young children have a certain touch still with angels and such. I think the stuff about the grim reaper mask and such were just imagination. But the baby..well..I would get online and find out the history of that house. I am curious to know now.

[lilmom]

I agree with what Jamie said. I come from a very intuitive family, for generations now, and it's not encouraged or discussed really until kids are old enough to really handle it better. So I just wouldn't do anything at this point in time, but I do think she is picking up on things that a typical kid her age would not. But don't stress over it. It's just who she is.

[Cascadian]

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Edited by Cascadian - 6/2/11 at 9:12pm

[maplesmom]

Thanks for weighing in everyone-

The former resident of the house was arrested for creating child pornography. At least two of the neighbors moved away because their children were involved. I can easily imagine some young girl getting pregnant..... ya. Very horrible. Of course my daughter doesn't know any of that. But it surely seems possible for some baby to have died there.

I guess I am just going to let it fly, and just naturally occur- and it doesn't scare either of us. Its just WEIRD!!!

I also forgot to say how much she LOVES cemeteries. The first time I took her to one she just lay down on the ground and said "mommy I LOVE this place so much!!"

[Blueone]

I don't know what to say, but I have a very active imagination and as kid, I loved walking around in the cemetary across the street from us. In fact, that's where I learned to ride my bike. I liked the cemetary because it was quiet, green, and had lots of flowers. It was also interesting to see all the names and look at the really old head stones. Even today I still like cemetaries, especially old ones. I remember as a kid being very interested in the dungeons of the England castles, but I didn't understand why they were bad, I just liked creepy places and still do.

I also made up stories about ghosts, monsters, and as a kid swore I saw one. I was getting up to go use the bathroom (I slept in the basement) and as I was heading up the stairs I saw this man motioning me to come over with his hands very expresively. I freaked out and ran up the stairs. However, I was half asleep and a bit groggy. As a teen, we moved to CA and I was sleeping on an almost antique bed that was my great grandmas. One night I woke up and saw a lady sitting on it in an old fashioned night gown with her hair braided and over her shoulder. I thought it was my mom (half asleep), but when I woke up I realized it couldn't have been her.

Anyways, what I'm getting at is that I don't know for sure what I saw. I have an extremely active imagination and even as an adult scare myself sometimes. I don't really allow myself to watch ghost story shows too often. Because of my beliefs I'm not sure I even believe in ghosts.

I wouldn't incourage or discourage the behavior. Just because someone likes cemetaries or has different tastes in things doesn't necessarily mean anything other than having a very different view in life and that she will most likely not be a conformist and that's not bad!

[majormajor]

Originally Posted by eepster

Usually when some one shows a perception like that, it isn't super natural, but more of a hyper awareness and super perceptive. They are gathering in and analyzing more information than the typical person does. They are noticing the tiniest details and sorting them. I'm sure it is often done on a nearly unconscious level.

this is me. i am especially tuned in to people's emotions and their emotional responses to circumstances. however, a few times i've "felt" things that seem to really go above and beyond what any person can intuit from their surroundings. here's the most recent example:

it was christmas eve, and my family was hanging out, talking. sis in law looks at my brother and says, why don't you tell them what you got me for christmas. brother gets that look he gets when his wife is annoyed at him and starts defending (it wasn't her only gift, not even the main one!). obviously, it's something pretty funny. at this point, i literally heard my brother's voice inside my head (this has NEVER happened before!), saying "LAUNDRY BASKET! LAUNDRY BASKET!" and at the same time, i see a stainless steel hamper that looks much like a trash can at a public park.
'you got her a hamper?!' i said. he looked at me. "laundry basket. (our sister) told you?" "no," i said. "and it's not a laundry basket, it's technically a hamper."

the next time i was at their house, i saw it, and it was exactly what i had seen in my head.

this one really left me wondering about the line between psychic and just really perceptive. i mean, i know my brother really, really well. i know him well enough to know that he would call a hamper a laundry basket, but not a laundry basket a hamper. if the idea of a laundry basket or hamper had just popped into my head, i wouldn't have given it a second though. but to hear his voice in my head saying laundry basket, and then see the hamper, tell him he got her a hamper (knowing he thought he bought her a laundry basket!), well that's never happened before. so it's not simply a case of me just remembering "hits" and forgetting "misses." of course, maybe hearing his voice in my head was just my brain's funny, one time way of providing me with a thought. and "seeing" what it looked like was just a one in a million.

anyway, that's my long winded way of saying, i think she's probably not psychic, but i'm not 100% sure.

[HeatherB]

Moving to Spirituality...

[contactmaya]

i dont know if i believe these things either, but i believe your daughter.
There are things we dont understand.
When you told your story about the old house, i was reminded of the time i was on vacation in an old house (over 100years old) in the countryside. I was with friends at the time, but i slept in my own room.
The house itself was not scary, and the atmosphere was very normal. But that night, i was awoken with someone looking at me. I sat up, and that person whooshed to the back of the room, lingered briefly, and disappeared.
I screamed my lungs out and woke everyone in the house.

I never see these kind of things, this was a one off occasion.

It was very frightening at the time, but the energy of whatever it was, was just curiosity, not malice.

I believe it was something, it was quite clear. I trust my senses.

Yep, i say your daughter is seeing something real.