Deciphering children's drawings - warning signs in children's drawings
As parents and also as teachers or social workers, we often meet at a drawing that our child or student has drawn, we look at the drawing and usually to make the child happy and empowered, we strengthen him and hang the drawing on the refrigerator at home or the blackboard in a unique corner of the classroom, do we know how to understand the drawing? Read the messages that the child or student conveys through the drawing. Often we miss important information, a message, or a warning that passes through the child's drawing.
As an expert in deciphering children's drawings, I have come across a wide variety of expressions and symbols that bring important information about a child's thoughts, feelings and experiences. In this article, I will describe 15 warning signs or alerts that must be paid attention to when we look at one or another drawing of the child or student, deciphering children's drawings, is a very effective tool for locating difficulties through the drawing, in the article I will provide practical guidance for parents, educators and health professionals the soul.
Before we start going through the notifications that can be received through children's drawings, we need to emphasize the most important rule regarding decoding children's drawings. We should not draw any conclusions, or firmly determine things based on one drawing, we must receive support from additional drawings or information received from other sources such as parents or caregivers.
With the help of a single painting we can find signs that can testify to a phenomenon or occurrence in the painter's life. Each painting teaches us about the point in time when the painting was painted.
Understanding warning signs in children's drawings
Deciphering children's drawings requires a keen eye for details and an understanding of the broader context in which the drawing was created. By analyzing the content, symbols and emotions conveyed in the work, we can identify warning signs that may indicate problems or challenges facing the child.
Here are some warning signs that you should pay attention to:
1. Violence or aggression: There are quite a few paintings or signs in the paintings depicting violence, aggression or conflict. They may indicate underlying anger, frustration, or trauma that the child is experiencing. There are quite a few drawings in which the child draws the violent event in which he took part, as a participant or as someone who suffered the violence. But there are cases in which the message is conveyed by allusion or with the help of one sign or another.
2. Isolation or Withdrawal: Children who consistently draw themselves alone or isolated from others may struggle with feelings of loneliness, social anxiety, or detachment. They draw themselves as a separate part of a group that plays together. Sometimes they draw themselves alone in an isolated place, for example alone in the forest or on a high mountain.
3. Dark or Chaotic Images: Paintings that include dark colors, chaotic scenes, or distorted figures may suggest feelings of confusion, fear, or distress. Quite a few times the scary characters or chaotic events are part of an exciting and pastoral painting, it is possible that the character will appear in happy events. Sometimes the child who draws will emphasize the figure or a different color, size or prominent organ.
4. Erasing or excessive scribble: In some of the paintings we can notice erasure, or scribbling on a certain object, it could be erasing a figure, an object or even an animal. Children who repeatedly erase or scribble on their drawings may experience perfectionism, anxiety, or self-doubt. In general, the character or the erased element is the main message that the drawing child wants to convey. If we ask the painter, he will give us an answer "I didn't do well".
5. Inappropriate themes: Sometimes children draw situations that are beyond their chronological age, drawings that contain inappropriate or mature themes beyond the child's developmental stage may raise concerns about exposure to the content or experiences of adults. The events can concern the painter himself or one of the people close to him. Therefore, pay attention to the theme of the painting or the main story.
6. Abnormal symbolism: There are symbols that are shown in the drawing and from our knowledge of the child's world, we understand that they are unusual symbols, such as weapons, monsters or cemeteries, these symbols may signal fears, trauma or unresolved conflicts.
7. Description of harming oneself or others: Drawings depicting harm to oneself or others, such as self-harm, suicide or aggression towards others, should be taken seriously and may indicate a need for intervention.
8. Lack of detail or expression: Drawings lacking detail, expression or complexity may imply difficulties in communication, emotional expression or cognitive development. The most prominent is a lack of elements when drawing a face, a lack of eyes, mouth or ears which are organs of communication, a lack of which will teach about difficulty in communicating with a certain person or even a certain group. On the other hand, organs that are prominent teach us about excess and fear, big eyes, a mouth with thick lips can teach about a certain suffering that is seen or heard with the help of the organs.
9. Regression in Developmental Skills: Children who exhibit regression in their drawing skills, such as a return to simpler shapes or styles, may be experiencing stress, trauma, or developmental delays. If we see the regression through the drawings, apparently the child is already deep in the regression process and it is expressed through the drawing and we did not notice this in his behaviors.
10. Overemphasis on negative themes: Paintings that consistently focus on negative themes, such as death, violence or destruction, may reflect emotional distress or negative coping mechanisms. There are paintings in which the painter will emphasize the negative themes with repeated coloring and a thick line.
11. Unusual Color Choices: Unusual or inconsistent color choices in a child's drawings, such as using dark colors to depict normally light objects, may indicate emotional turmoil or confusion.
12. Lack of joy or playfulness: Drawings lacking joy, playfulness or imagination may suggest a lack of emotional involvement or satisfaction in the child's life.
13. Excessive control or perfectionism: Children who exhibit excessive control or perfectionism in their drawings, such as meticulously coloring within the lines or erasing minor imperfections, may struggle with anxiety or self-criticism.
14. Description of loss or separation: Paintings depicting themes of loss, separation or separation Something, such as a missing family member or pet, may signal an unresolved grief or trauma that constitutes an emotional difficulty for the child, the drawing is a tool of expression, it is a tool that allows a child with difficulties of expression, to express his deepest feelings.
15. Themes inconsistent with developmental stage: Drawings containing themes or symbols inconsistent with the child's developmental stage, such as excessively sexual images or extreme violence, may indicate exposure to inappropriate content or experiences. Especially if it is a matter of high exposure to genitals, emphasis should be placed, often if it is sexual violence that the child has experienced, the genitals will be drawn under the clothes.
Summary
In conclusion, deciphering children's drawings can offer valuable insights into their thoughts, feelings and experiences, helping us to identify warning signs that may indicate underlying problems or challenges. By paying attention to the content, symbols and emotions conveyed in the work, we can better support children's holistic well-being and provide appropriate interventions when needed.
**This article was written by Koby Avraham (MA) Social change in the arts, an expert decipherer of children's paintings.
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