Drawing is the most popular method of art therapy

Common situation. The child sits, puffs, tries and clearly draws the contours. So it turned out the sun, the sky, a house, a dog, people, a field or a boy from a neighboring yard. It would seem that children draw understandable things, but through them they express their inner world, state of mind, emotions. Give the kids paints and crayons, a piece of paper and complete freedom! Real discoveries await you.
Drawing has long been a separate section in psychology and even a means of curing children from various ailments. After all, it is the color, shape and presentation of the picture that the child eloquently says what he will never say out loud. It also develops thinking, coordination, imagination and learns patience. And the sooner he masters his favorite, convenient and comfortable drawing method, the easier and clearer many difficult things will become for him and clearer for you.
The world of drawing is unlimited as the fantasy of children, so it is not always necessary to approach the reading of images literally. For example, black and gray tones are not necessarily melancholy and negative. Perhaps the child is just experimenting and looking for a use for this color. Or the characters of fairy tales, heroes of popular cartoons, difficult to recognize – this is a reason to rejoice at the director’s reading of the child. That’s how he got the idea. You can not put the creativity of children at any age in a framework and try to understand it literally. As well as the drawings themselves, which often adults do not understand due to the lack of clarity, smooth lines and the academicism that they are used to and are trying to impose. It is much more effective to make this process an art therapy and a relaxation tool. When drawing happens:
• Parting with negative emotions and drawing a hard day or event.
• Waiting and subduing rage, anger, anger. Then you can avoid punishment, offensive words and actions. It is better to leave everything at the mercy of paper, lines, paints, shapes and objects.
• Joint activities and a unique opportunity in the process, leading questions about the drawing to find out what worries the child. And most importantly, how can you help him?
• Observation from the outside and early warning of the problem, up to contacting a specialist. Take a closer look: have the colors, sizes, smoothness of lines, incompleteness of the picture changed dramatically? Sudden changes over a long period of time are already an occasion for a delicate conversation.
In order to read and learn new things about a child from his drawings, this process still needs to be properly organized, making the little artist interested. It is clear that most children willingly agree to such creativity. But this aspiration must be supported in every possible way.
First, always in a conspicuous place and in the field of view of the baby, let there be tools: paper, pencils, felt-tip pens, paints and brushes.
Second, give your child a choice. If he wants a lot of paper, let him take it. Wants to draw with a pencil and a marker at the same time – to health. Put on a big protective bib, a shirt for drawing – and go! He should not be afraid to stain the table, walls, clothes. Therefore, you need to take care of the place for drawing and other little things in advance.
Third, do not try to buy expensive drawing supplies. The main thing is not volumes, but availability. Therefore, it is better to have more drafts from dad’s work than one or two sheets of expensive purchased paper. Further – fantasy and scope for creation, which adults need to encourage in every possible way. Of course, not to the detriment of the home environment.
What child does not like to draw wallpaper or gouache on the cabinet door? And it’s not always bullshit. Most often, children are driven by the desire to learn, experiment and test their abilities, for which space is needed. And it is very easy to create for everyone, even within a standard room. Hang, stretch, attach large sheets of whatman paper, old wallpaper or newsprint. It takes a child a few days to try out such a large sketchbook. And then it will be completely limited to a standard sheet. On it, the image is more visible, it is more convenient to control the process, it is always at hand and compactly assembled in one place.
It is also important to skillfully teach and at the same time inspire the child to plot drawing. It can be in absolutely any style and manner of performance. Let the little observer try not to confine himself to internal images from memory. No one bothers to arrange plein air during a walk, a trip to the country or a trip to the circus. A small notebook and a pencil – the image is captured! Children can create whole series and collections of drawings, collecting which they get a funny book or brochure.
And how much joy, delight and reason to once again gather friends and relatives will be caused by an exhibition of drawings, even if hung with pins on the curtains in the largest room! So the child not only learns to explain, formulate and clearly convey to the public his vision, presentation style and manner of performance. He can also observe people’s reactions, accept advice and criticism, and be grateful for the interest shown. If, in the process of searching for and getting to know a new kind of art, the child shows a serious interest and wants to learn more, try to find such a school. Choose a teaching model and a drawing teacher, for whom the main thing is art and an individual approach to mastering it. Fortunately, now there are plenty of various schools and art studios.
Other methods of art therapy
Healing with the help of various types of art is not yet adopted by all parents. And very in vain. It is amazing when, plunging into the world of creation and creation of beauty, children not only rejoice emotionally, but also stimulate the protective and restorative functions of the body. This is their hormone of joy, a field of activity that brings visible results. To start creating, you can decide on the type of art therapy on your own or after consulting with a specialist. Usually, as an adjunct in general therapy of recovery, it is recommended:
1. Drawing. Pencils, felt-tip pens and markers are suitable for hyperactive children. Watercolor, gouache, acrylic paints – for children who have experienced stress and deep psychological trauma.
2. Work with various materials for modeling (clay, wax, plasticine) and sculpture.
3. The art of creating paper figures (origami, collage).
4. Music, singing, vocals.
5. Dancing, plastic, rhythmic gymnastics.
6. Cinema and video.
7. Fairy tale therapy. Approve the child in all his creative undertakings that help a holistic and beautiful perception of this world. For them, he is bright, kind and beautiful!
Useful tips for practicing art therapy
• As they grow up, the boys show less and less interest in drawing and already at school they do it reluctantly and carelessly.
• The peak of interest and the desire to master different drawing techniques is observed in children 5-6 years old. And by the age of 10, it slowly subsides.
• Drawings of girls are very bright, detailed and scrupulous. Boys, on the other hand, prefer movement, so often their stories are blurred and not completed to the end.
• Until the age of 12, one must not interfere in the development of the creative potential of a young artist. Just guide carefully. This point of view is already recognized by many of the world’s masters of art.
• A talented drawing is not a photograph or a copy of the surrounding world, but an image of a child’s true view of things.
• Drawing, according to psychologists, harmoniously develops the personality of even followers of the natural sciences. Such a hobby helps to better master not only technical disciplines, but also encourages engineering inventions.
• The first painting lessons for a child can be given in the bathroom. There it will be easier to wash it and everything around. Just remember that you can not leave him alone on a slippery floor and it is better to lay soft rugs.
• It is possible to accustom a child to the simplest type of drawing – with fingers, palms or a brush – from the age of 7 months. Gradually teach your baby the rules that will make this process convenient and enjoyable. If the child does not want to draw, then first show him how to do it. Then he will understand and learn that paints are needed not for pampering, but for an exciting business.
• A palette, a brush, a glass-tumbler, an album for drawing – these are not all tools for drawing. You can also use stamp printing, homemade figurines or ordinary foam rubber sponges.
• The development of children’s fine arts goes through stages: manual technique, painting with a brush and mixing paints, coloring, plot drawings and freedom of creativity.
When choosing a method of working with children, art therapy is the best way of psychological relief.
Daria Sotnikova