Psychology MM
Our kitchen walls may be festooned with our kids’ drawings and paintings but do you know exactly what those drawings could be telling you about your child?
What your child’s drawings tell you
As parents, we’re all familiar with our child’s drawings arriving home from school: a large blue blob in the centre of the page (daddy) and a smaller pink blob to the right with a triangular skirt (you). While they’re lovely to have and hold on to, however, children’s drawings are a great way of working out how they’re interpreting the world around them. From a very early age, kids love to draw. It provides them with a
way of communicating their moods, ideas and dreams, and allows them to express themselves. In their drawings kids will often portray the people who they
feel are the most important in their lives and so the pictures often provide vital clues as to how they interpret relationships both with others around them and with the outside world. Their drawings will also provide an outlet for how they’re feeling
– not just what sort of a mood they’re in – but also how their temperament is developing. An aggressive or angry child, for example, will scribble furiously, while a more placid toddler will draw with more careful, slower, more measured movements.
How drawing skills develop
Obviously, every child is different, but in general the following drawing ‘techniques’ will apply to the relevant age groups.
Twelve - 18 months: Scribbling in long strokes, zigzags and circles, with no attempt to ‘draw’ anything in particular. Your child’s eyes will follow the marks she makes on the paper. Initially, her hand will stay on the paper until she begins to gain more confidence.
Two+ years of age: At this stage more realism appears, as your child tries to draw what she sees and, gradually, the scribble starts to mean something. Your child will now start to give her picture a title, or will be able to tell you what it is.
Three+: By now, your child will be beginning to work on trying to draw shapes exactly as they seem to her in real life. The first faces may appear at this time.
Four+: Intellectual realism is utilised at this age, where your child will try to draw what she sees around her as it really is. Whole bodies may be formed now.
Five+: More detailed people finally manage to acquire clothing!
Six+: Drawings begin to take on more activity and people are represented ‘doing’ things in different situations. By the age of ten, visual realism becomes ‘the norm’ and your child begins to draw the things she sees as she really sees them.
What you can learn from your child’s drawings
What your child draws – and how well she draws it – can be a good sign of how intelligent she is. How and what she draws can also speak volumes about her personality. Very shy or inhibited children will, for example, often refuse point blank to draw, or will draw empty shapes. You can help your child learn to communicate through drawing.
Talking to your child about her pictures is the best form of providing an outlet for something that your child wants to talk about. Don’t go down the line of making a statement such as ‘Oh, that’s a lovely picture’ though, as this makes the conversation ‘closed’ and doesn’t prompt further questions. Opt instead for asking questions such as ‘why is mummy on a balloon in the middle of the sea?’
When you should worry
In most cases, a child’s drawings simply provide a colourful backdrop to many kitchens, but they can, on occasion, also be a cry for help. Drawing can be a release or emotional outlet for a child who is unhappy, or who is perhaps suffering following a trauma.
Watch out for signs such as: • A general impression of unhappiness and nastiness, which is constantly present
• Parts of the body that are regularly omitted • Very dark drawings with excessive shading • Refusing to draw, or destroying drawings
Don’t panic though! Violent scenes can worry some parents, but they’re actually part of any child’s imagination. Similarly, the drawing of genitals can appear around the age of three or four, but simply show that a child may be becoming aware of her own body. As always, if you have any concerns, speak to your GP or health visitor.
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