Children’s Drawings: Hidden Messages
Children’s drawings can be a window into their thoughts, feelings, and world. Sometimes children draw things that are out of the ordinary for them or just plain silly. But often, they will draw something meaningful to them that adults may not see! In this blog post, we explore hidden messages in children’s drawings and what they might mean!
In the past, parents who wanted to know what their children were really thinking had to do a lot of guessing. But now anyone with an internet connection can go on, and take a peek at what’s going on inside that little head. And if you’re lucky, maybe they’ll even have left some clues in their drawings. From how many times they draw trees or animals to the way they use colors, these drawings may give you more insight into your child than ever before.
Artistic Development and Psychology
The drawings made by children reflect the age they are in, not just physically but also mentally. As such, there can be messages hidden within them that adults may not see!
One developmental change that occurs between childhood and adulthood is an increase in abstraction from realism or objectivity to subjectivity (Lorrain & Jacobsen). This means that as children grow older, their drawings will become less literal with more abstracted shapes on the page rather than recognizable forms like people or animals. This makes sense because young children don’t have much experience drawing realistic representations. So as they get older, they have a better understanding of what those shapes should look like.
Children’s drawings can also be an indicator of the children’s level of self-esteem. Studies show that when children draw themselves on paper in various positions, they will often choose to portray themselves with more negative or vulnerable feelings such as sadness and anger than positive ones (Dunn & Brown). For example, if you ask them to draw a picture of their family, it is not uncommon for them to include parents arguing rather than happily smiling at each other! This could mean that these kids are struggling emotionally either because they feel sad about something going on in their life or angry about how someone may have treated them?
Creating art also helps children develop important cognitive skills like problem-solving and critical thinking; As they think about what is needed for their drawing before they can produce it. Cognitive skills are necessary for children to be successful in school or homeschooling!
Learn What Children’s Drawings Say About Their Personality
Children’s drawings and artworks provide a window into their world. They are an honest reflection of children’s thoughts, feelings, and aspirations.
Some common themes that we see in children’s drawings include: the family home, friends at play, school scenes with teachers or classmates, animals they love to draw (often pets), objects for pretend games like cars, trucks, houses etc., living things from nature such as flowers, trees etc., abstract concepts expressed through shapes – these may be interpreted by adults but not understood by children themselves yet.
It is also important to remember that even though children’s drawings show some recognisable features of reality, there are many conventions about how it can be represented on paper.
They provide insights into possible difficulties that may not otherwise be picked up by adults or other professionals who work with children daily.
A child’s drawing might reflect feelings such as anger, confusion, or sadness rather than happiness if these things exist for them but are not shared openly with others.
Why So Dark and Scary?
As children grow, they develop a greater awareness of the world. It is not uncommon for them to express this heightened awareness through their drawings which may represent difficult emotions and events that have been experienced or witnessed in real life. Some children draw things that frighten them because it helps them process these feelings and thoughts. This is because they’re not ready to talk about it, or they don’t know how. For example, children may draw dark images after witnessing a scary event such as violence at school. Children also learn by imitating adults around them, so if their parents are violent at home, this can influence a child’s own drawing style, whether consciously or subconsciously.
Scary movies and TV series can also influence children to include scary images in their drawings. Children are generally more open and less inhibited than adults, so they may sometimes draw things that we don’t want or need to see!
The Meaning of Red
The colour red can be used in a drawing to represent anger, aggression, and violence. It could also mean that the person feels hot or agitated. Red often associates with danger; for example, blood has been shown as being deep red, so it represents bleeding.
A child might draw themselves holding a knife (or another weapon) while wearing new bright red shoes- this might illustrate their feelings of wanting revenge after feeling hurt by others. They want to retaliate against those who have wronged them but don’t know how because they are just children!
Red could also symbolise love and affection: maybe something good happened, such as getting new shoes or a new toy. Therefore, red can show many different emotions, so it’s important not to jump to conclusions.
What Are They Saying?
Examples of Negative Meaning Behind Children’s Drawings
Drawing a picture of an ambulance might be the child’s way of telling us that they’re feeling unwell.
Things being cut up and squashed could symbolise their thoughts on what is happening to them at home. They are having difficulty coping, so they turned to drawings to escape from reality by extending such things to paper.
The colour white should not automatically mean innocence: think how many people wear white for funerals! It can also represent purity (white clothes). If there are no other colours used, maybe the person has given up hope on something, or they are feeling depressed.
A drawing with lots of red in it may signify deep feelings about themselves, like self-hate or anger and frustration.
Drawing people is a symbol of how they feel about themselves. If children draw big and fat figures or even stick figures, it may be an indication that they are feeling down on their self-esteem.
Drawing on the wall could be an expression of their feelings about the outside world. They may want to bring back memories from a time when they were happy and carefree, or there may be some other reason that is more personal for them.
Drawings with lots of circles could represent children’s ideas about how life needs balance. For example, drawing eyes close together or having both arms outstretched on either side of their bodies.
An empty circle usually stands for loneliness, but sometimes it can mean anger instead.
Also:
Children might draw pictures with no faces when they feel like there is nobody around who genuinely cares for them or if somebody has done something to hurt them. They may also do this because they don’t want those people seeing their emotions written all over their face. It would make things too difficult for them at home or school, for instance.
Pictures with just one line in the middle represent either time passing or strict separation of something they want – like their parents from each other.
Examples of Positive Meaning Behind Children’s Drawings
Children with happy, round faces and their arms outstretched. These drawings generally represent the child’s feeling that they can create a positive change for themselves.
Trees represent peace, and children drawing trees may be trying to find a way to keep themselves calm or feel safe.
A house surrounded by flowers means the child feels loved and wanted at home. This could also represent stability in family values such as sharing meals together every night or standing by each other no matter what happens outside of the home, like at school or work.
A heart with children in it shows that they are not afraid to show their love and affection or to be vulnerable around others.
Rainbows have a number of meanings in children’s drawings. They could be used as an expression of hope or to symbolise that somebody has passed away and gone to heaven; For example, with their spirit representing a rainbow.
Butterflies are a popular symbol to draw in children’s drawings, but they can have different meanings. For example, the butterfly could represent happiness. Also it represents how somebody has just started their life journey and is happy about what lies ahead of them.
However, some children might occasionally not want to face reality. Thus, when drawing pictures with symbols like rainbows or butterflies, they may be trying to escape from a problem such as bullying at school.
Parents, Here’s What You Need to Do
- Ask the child about their drawings and what they mean, without giving your own opinion
- Reflect on any ideas that come up with them to show interest in their thoughts and feelings
- Take note of hidden messages like rainbows or butterflies that are repeated so you can follow up later if needed
- Discuss with your child what they could do to help themselves when feeling down. They may want you to spend time together, to make them feel more important.
Drawing Is a Language That All Children Can Speak
They use this form of expression to explore and experience their world in ways they cannot yet articulate or share with others. Drawing something as simple as an apple may be a symbol of the child’s favourite fruit; While other things might represent how he feels about himself (like using dark colours when feeling angry). Parents should monitor children’s drawings, not just for developmental reasons but also to better understand their kids and how they feel about different aspects of life. It is a great way to get more insight into who our little one really is!
We hope that you found this blog post useful! If you want to know more fun activities with your beloved family, you can check out other blog posts in games and activities category.
