My Daughter Thinks She's Psychic....

She probably does believe it's true, but that doesn't mean you have to believe it. I do think you need to be supportive of her though. Don't make her feel as if she's done something wrong or is being crazy. Every person is different and that's okay. As long as it's not disrupting her day-to-day life or some how negatively effecting her life then I would not take her to a doctor or psychologist. Also, as long as she's watching age-appropriate paranormal stuff then I would let her continue to do that too. Maybe it is just a phase and so be supportive and love her.

Good luck!

I'd just tell her you love all her special skills and mention some of her more concrete skills. It's a phase and it'll go away. A lot of kids go through a " special powers" stage. I wouldn't worry about it

that's a hard one...i can say myself, i've had my own experiences and those in the room with me didn't witness/see what i saw. it could be that she's getting too involved with her show, maybe "wants" this stuff to happen for excitment..(the mind can be a tricky place to get lost in)

i wouldn't tell her that you do or don't believe her..maybe cut off some of her tv time with these shows and see what happens

Where would Lisa Williams be if no one had supported her differences? :)

Support her. Her experiences are real, even if only to her. Help her to smudge the house to put any "spirits" at rest. To do this get a smudge stick of sage from any new age shop, or make your own by drying sage and bundling it together. Light it and walk throughout the house asking the spirits or energy in the house to balance, such as saying "good engerys in, bad energys please leave". As one who is sensitive to this type of thing, your daughter should be able to feel the difference in the house right away. Whether you believe or not, she is looking to you for support, and what does that support hurt? What will happen to your relationship if you do not give her the support she needs? That is definitely something to keep in mind.

Hi Suzanne, I don't know what to say about the shampoo bottles...

But my neice has absence seizures, had them all through childhood but could not really express them til middle school. She reports a very similar thing to what your daughter says. She actually blacks out for the briefest of moments, and has a dream, she calls it, which feels like it last a half hour when in fact it's only a moment or two.

ADDED: I should mention that my neice is an EXTREMELY imaginative child, exceptionally artistic and very unique! (She's now 16)

I would suggest you discuss this with her ped and possibly get a neuro eval.
Meanwhile google "Absence Seizures" and see if you find some similarities.

Good Luck!

Hi Suzanne
I see spirits,auras and have visions so I am definely a believer.
Saying this maybe she is a bit young to be watching these programmes.
I watch them also and feel that I am a lot more heightened after watching these programmes.
If she continues to watch them,say a little prayer to the angels to watch over her and your house.
I would give her the benefit of the doubt that what she is saying is true.
It is paramount that you keep the lines of communication open and she feels that you are there to support her.
Ask the angels to protect and guide her.Visualise that she has a strong protection around her. I do this for my three year old son as a safety measure anyway.Certain spirits can drain energy.
One of the ways of telling if there is spiritual activity in your house is if your electric bill is quite high,if light bulbs blow quite often,electric appliances breaking down often or certain cold spots in your house.
I wouldn't recommended a GP or psychologist yet.
If she continues with this maybe bring her to see and get advise from a psychic that you can TRUST.Her gift will develope if its meant to be.
Love and light
B.

I have to smile and shake my head when I read this because it reminds me of my little boy (8yo now) who insists he's magical because he can wave his hand and then make something "appear" there. (We've been watching a lot of the old TV show "Bewitched" lately, and he is definitely very impressionable!) I get tired of it and I don't think I'm very supportive there (smile).

What I would probably do, since I don't know the right answer to this, is listen "supportively" and then move on to another topic? Lessen the amount of paranormal TV/movie watching/chatter, then after a while, if it decreases then that is probably where it was coming from. If it flares up after no input or stimulus then hmm.

As for the shampoo bottle - Like you I wouldn't believe it, so maybe saying something like well, I'm glad you are ok, and that's what matters. if she persists in asking whether you believe or not, I would say I honestly don't know because (the reasons you cited with bottles easily falling, etc) or it could be as you said, and there is no way for me to know. I'm just glad you're okay. Let me know if it happens again, okay?

It's just a phase, I went through something similar from Elelementary school until high school. My mom my sister and I watched a lot of pananormal spooky shows back then, we would cuddle almost every Friday night and watch a spooky episode or movie about ghosts. I loved it and I wanted so bad to see a ghost, i thought I did many times.
and I was little when we saw them, about 10 or 11 so I believed the whole thing. I have good memories of it and kinda feel disapointed that I never saw a real ghost lol.
My grandma believes in everything paranormal so she did believe me and we talked about it for hours, it was such an innocent thing. I thought I saw a little girl called Emma and I talked to her, a friend of mine supposedly also saw her when she was with me. I think I would have felt hurt if my grandma thought I was crazy, I bet she thought it sometimes ;o)
to this day I LOVE scary movies about ghosts, haunting anything that will make me jump.

I think it is a phase. It is something new and gets her some attention. You don't have to believe her, but you can support her and talk to her about these "experiences". Do they frighten her, etc.? Does she do this with other "new" things that she sees? I wouldn't belittle her or tell her that she is wrong. It is ok if she believes this, and you can tell her that sometimes you have trouble because you haven't had these experiences. I also wouldn't ban the program, but maybe try to get her interested in something else? If you ban them, you are making a bigger deal out of this.

I think at 11 they are still pretty fanciful.

I've always been a realist, even when I was quite little, and have never been a believer in things that don't make scientific sense.

However, when I was 11 I read The Lord of the Rings, and was pretty obsessed with the books. I remember one time the Ouija board told me that on my 12th birthday I would wake up in Middle Earth (that's where the books take place, if you haven't read them.) I remember fervently hoping that was true, and being disappointed when I didn't wake up in Middle Earth on my birthday.

When puberty hits, they usually become more reality-based, if you can consider the stuff most teens concern themselves with "reality."

I'd just listen to her stories, tell her your opinion (there are no ghosts) and wait for this phase to pass.

If it doesn't pass -- well, it's her life, I guess if she wants to believe in ghosts and psychics it's not that harmful.

Just my opinion but I think 11 is a little young to be watching anything to do with hauntings. That said my kids (10 and 6) are only allowed to watch PBS, some National Geographic shows and sports, so I'm not the one to ask about that kind of thing. I would just let it be for a while. It sounds like she wants you to believe she is psychic. Would it hurt anything to believe her? Maybe she needs a little more attention or maybe she really is experiencing something. Either way she obviously wants to share things with you. Did she have an imaginary friend as a kid? If so did you tell her it didn't exsist? Both of my kids had one and we entertained that idea until they outgrew it. If you don't have any religious reasons for being opposed to the idea maybe you can just go along with it until she gives up on it. I would keep an eye on her to make sure she isn't hurting herself to make you believe her. Good luck.

Well first of all I am a religious person and therefore I do believe in evil and good spirits. And i believe that some people for whatever reason can see "things." I also believe that sometimes watching those type shows can make some people think about paranormal stuff a lot and that can make them more aware of that kinda stuff and can left spirits come into your home and around her. I would listen to her and take what she says seriously. First I would tell her that she can't watch those type shows anymore and see if that makes everything stop. If not I would look into having your house blessed. Religious figures can do it. Like your priest, paster, bishop etc. They just come in and say a prayer in your home to make it a safer place. I don't think your daughter is crazy so I don't think she needs therapy. And it might just be all in her head and again those shows are just feeding her imagination so stop with the shows first and then see what happens.

Can you support her looking into the history of the house and previous occupants. Maybe looking through ancestral records and exploring your family tree can direct her energies a little, and make it appear that you are more supportive. Some of this seems to be attention seeking behavior, maybe craving some of your attention in her interests? I always find those shows interesting, but never gave them too much belief. Good luck.

Im not a mom yet...Im having my first in January. So Im not really sure that my opinion even matters. But...if this were to happen to me Im sure Id feel the same way you do. I would possibly just give it some time. I would probably question it but I think I would let it go for a little while longer. Maybe, like you said, its just a phase. Give it some time to see if it wears off and I wouldn't get to hyped around her about it. Id probably get like a journal or something, or make note about how many times she mentions things happening and write down what she sees or things that she describes to you. Then if it is a phase and wears off then I wouldn't worry too much about it...but if it keeps up, that way you will have something written to talk to a doctor about...you can tell them about how many times this has occurred and whats been said and all that. Also a friend of mine has a daughter who mentioned that she would space out suring class for a few seconds and see things...turns out they got her checked out and she was having mini seizures. The preschool could help keep an eye on her to see if she has these space out episodes. My friends daughter had a lot of things going on with her though so that may not even relate. but...Id still talk to the daycare or preschool about keeping an eye on her. And like I said. Im not a mom yet...so Im not sure how long id let this go on before mentioning it to a doctor...but its just a thought.

Seconding Theresa N - this might be absence seizures and her "vision" is an aura she is getting right before having one. My dau is epi (grand mal) and doc said she should have some indication one is about to happen - she would need to pay attention to learn what it is (however, doubtful she ever took his words seriously).

I was really interested in these topics when I was that age as well. We even had one slumber party where my best friend and I rigged up a fake seance and made things fall over with fishing line. I have always loved a good ghost story and they never scared me very much even when I was younger than your daughter. I think at that age kids can tell fantasy from reality most of the time but there is still a "but wouldn't it be cool if it were real" kind of mentality.
It terms of my own personal beliefs I am on the fence. I could believe in some things like ghosts and psychic phenomena are possible but I would not fully believe without a personal experience or other corroboration. I would say support her but also gently point out other possibilities liked the overcrowded shower caddy. The actual "Ghost Hunters" show is pretty good about that because they try to eliminate all the real world causes of mysterious things going on. They check the plumbing, wiring, if the house is level, etc. to rule those things out before looking for paranormal explanations. I haven't watched every show out there but the "A Haunting" one I have seen and it seemed like they "dramatized" a lot. Now that Halloween is past hopefully there will be a little less of this type of programing on so it might be a good time to cut back on how much she watches (and make sure to watch each show you let her watch at least once yourself so you can talk about it together).

As for when to be concerned. A lot of adults without mental illness believe in ghosts and the paranormal so that alone isn't a clear sign of a mental illness. I worked in the mental health field and what you describe doesn't sound like people I met with significant delusions or hallucinations that were part of a specific mental illness. If she is worried that some kind of ghost or spirit is trying to harm her I'd be concerned. I'm not really sure where to get help with that though. I also would discourage anything that you might consider looking for trouble--seances, playing with a Ouija board, ghost hunting, that kind of thing. Having someone bless your house or smudging sage, as mentioned in some other posts, is pretty harmless even if it doesn't help. I see it as saying symbolically this is my home and don't come in without an invitation.

I'm not sure what to make of the "visions" without more of a description. It could be something like the absence seizures described in other posts or something physical like being tired and hungry at the end of the day or a temporary drop in blood pressure when you stand up suddenly. The blood pressure drop used to happen to me as a kid and teenager and it feels like things get gray and fuzzy for a few seconds (like being about to faint but not completely fainting). I didn't know what it was until I was an adult though.

I'm not sure if I believe some people are psychic (maybe) but I do think people can have very strong intuition. But intuition may just the non verbal parts of your brain trying to give you information. My intuition about people improved a lot as I got more training in observing non verbal communication.

I'm not sure if any of this was helpful but those are my opinions.

It is most likely a stage she is going through and the less attention she gets maybe the less she will focus on it. I wouldn't ban her from shows out loud maybe just redirect her.

If she sees visions and it becomes a problem, she could be evaluated by a medical professional.

You seem like a good Mom from your writing and that your daughter trusts you and talks to you about it. I think this just a phase and it will work itself out.

PJ

I suggest you pick up a book that may have some answers for you and let your daughter read it too.
http://www.amazon.com/Lucifer-Dethroned-William-Sharon-Sc...
It is written from the Christain persuasion, but even if you don't lean that way, I think you'd find it very interesting and give you food for thought. The first chapter I remember frightend me very much, but if you keep reading its beyond empowring. For your daughter, and others who have had paranormal encounters, this book offers an explanation that both validates the expereince, but exposes it for what it really is. Please get this book. Even if you dissagree with it, its a page turner.

who knows if there's truth to those shows, i'm open to it.

however. i'd have her stop watching those shows... or more focus on giving her attention that's not related to that
: )

Step #1: yes, I would definitely not let her watch those shows anymore. Kids are SO impressionable at that age. I don't thinks it's a good idea to feed the preoccupation.
Step #2: it sounds like your daughter has a very active imagination - not a bad thing, as long as it is channeled appropriately. Does she have too much time on her hands? Maybe there are some creative extra-curricular activities she can get involved in that will give her something more positive to do with her time.
Step#3: I think your suggestion to act nonchalant (for now) is a good one. I would call it watchful waiting at this point. I wouldn't make a huge deal of it, unless you see it escalating. Kids tend to go thru phases, and hopefully this is just a passing interest and she will be on to something new soon enough.