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Stages of drawing in the child

The development of drawing in the child is a very important evolutionary indicator. That is why psychologists have devoted a lot of time to the observation and analysis of the drawing, and have made different classifications according to its characteristics, relating it, in turn, to a certain developmental stage in the child.

The development of drawing in children can be divided to study it in four major stages :

  1. From the doodling : From two to four years approximately.
  2. Pre-schematic :From four to seven years approximately.
  3. Schematic :From seven to nine years approximately.
  4. From the gang or realist : From nine to twelve years approximately.

What does the child tell us with his drawing?

From the moment the child begins to draw, he begins to discover a new way of expressing himself and communicating with the outside world.

Children’s drawings can tell us a lot about their personality . In these, the child can capture different emotions and visions of the world that surrounds them; like your fears, joys, dreams , wishes, nightmares, and interpretations of yourself and other people. Being able to understand children’s drawings at each stage of their development is a great tool for adults -whether they are parents, teachers or caregivers-, which helps us understand and decipher their thoughts.

To know what the child is trying to communicate to us with his drawing, just pay attention to him and play with him, asking him questions about it. They can be questions such as, what the people in the drawing are doing, or who are the people or the elements that are in the drawing and what function they do. These simple questions can reveal hidden things about the child, which he may never have expressed otherwise. Also for parents, it can be a great tool to help them discover how their children perceive them.

The use of color is also a great indicator about our children’s emotions. If your child often uses dark colors like black and red repeatedly in his drawings, it may be a sign that something is wrong with his mental health. A repetition of dark colors , such as black, tends to be a sign that indicates pain, distress, and depression ; a frequent repetition of the color red, can indicate violent feelings, anger , frustration and anxiety . On the contrary, the calmer colors such as blue and pink, show serenity and harmony, so we can deduce that the child’s mental health is stable.

You may also be interested in:   Humanistic Psychology

Another technique used to analyze children’s drawings are positions . For example, if the drawing is on the top or bottom of the sheet , or if it is on the left or right side of the sheet . If the drawing is in the lower part of the page, it can be problems related to insecurity and low self-esteem , unlike if it is in the upper part, which can mean self-centeredness, excess of high self-esteem , or some narcissistic disorder .

When the child draws figures, the size is something to take into account , since it shows the hierarchy of the person according to the child’s vision. Those figures that are larger are the most dominant personalities, while the smallest occupy a lower hierarchical place. Those figures that the child represents with exaggerated hands could mean someone aggressive, while a figure with small feet could mean that a child or whoever the figure represents feels unstable or off-balance. If this last figure represented is a father or caregiver of the child, it could mean that the child sees him as someone unstable and feels little protected by that person.

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Hello Readers, I am Nikki Bella a Psychology student. I have always been concerned about human behavior and the mental processes that lead us to act and think the way we do. My collaboration as an editor in the psychology area of ​​Well Being Pole has allowed me to investigate further and expand my knowledge in the field of mental health; I have also acquired great knowledge about physical health and well-being, two fundamental bases that are directly related and are part of all mental health.

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