It is simple: things like law, business and engineering are necessary to sustain life. But art, love and romance are what we stay alive for.
When it comes to children, if you know your child has one beautiful and creative mind which they don’t know how to express, there’s nothing better than art therapy to help them with that. Simply, they feel much more comfortable expressing themselves with markers and crayons rather than words. It’s a much more viable communication solution than having a conversation.
If your child has gone through some kind of traumatic experience (bullying, abuse, witnessing an accident) and we don’t do anything about it, it can affect their future life. Through art therapies they will bring out their suppressed thoughts and emotions, so you will be able to focus on healing their issues.
How does one session look like?
It is simple: things like law, business and engineering are necessary to sustain life. But art, love and romance are what we stay alive for.
When it comes to children, if you know your child has one beautiful and creative mind which they don’t know how to express, there’s nothing better than art therapy to help them with that. Simply, they feel much more comfortable expressing themselves with markers and crayons rather than words. It’s a much more viable communication solution than having a conversation.
If your child has gone through some kind of traumatic experience (bullying, abuse, witnessing an accident) and we don’t do anything about it, it can affect their future life. Through art therapies they will bring out their suppressed thoughts and emotions, so you will be able to focus on healing their issues.
he children are usually placed in groups. This way, they don’t feel alone and that they are not the only ones who experienced something painful. Then, they do different activities depending on what they’re good at. There are lot of activities such as drawing, pottery, games etc.
Where can it help?
It helps children with problems like:
- Mental health
- Grief or loss of a family member
- Bereavement
- Learning disabilities
- Emotional problems
- Abuse
- Schizophrenia
And many more.
How can I help?
First, and the major task you have is to get involved. You, your significant other, your parents, other kids – everyone. Bring art therapy to your home. You can buy pots online and use them as canvas for you and your little one to draw on. Later you can display it in your home and proudly show it to your guests. Also, if you want to help them to master the “art of art” here are some techniques:
Get them into making art
Since art is supposed to be a pleasant experience, and some children have never tried it, so make sure that you start off with something fun and easy. The best starting option is definitely scribbling. First of all they will practice their fine motor skills, as well as pre-literacy skills. All you need to do is place magazine cut-outs of drawn items, piece of paper, some crayons and glue. This will wake up their inspiration in no time.
Get them to stay on paper
We all know that kids can make a mess once their creative spirit is awake. That’s why you need to teach them how to control their space. You will do so by using a tray with a lip which will create a boundary and keep them working inside of it. Later, they will become aware of the paper limits.
Get them to stay within the lines
There are several ways to do this, but one of them is to use wax sticks and glue to make borders on the paper which will prevent your child from veering off his paper. If you are too impatient and can’t wait for the glue to dry, use colorful masking tape instead.
Get them to touch squishy stuff
Some kids just aren’t comfortable with paint. You can help them with this if you find a way for them to touch squishy texture while their hands remain clean. Do this by squeezing a big amount of paint on a saran wrap and top that with another layer of saran wrap. They’ll love it.
Introduce them to art
If you want them to start visualizing things in their brain, you must expose them to art. Consider visiting an art museum with them.
Simple projects
There are many different things you could do, but here are the two most effective ones.
Anger monster
Take a large paper and give it to your child to draw an image of a monster. When they are finished, give them a thought bubble where the monster’s thoughts should be written. Talking bubble is for what would the monster say and heart for what would it feel. After sharing the thoughts, repeat the process but this time ask your child to draw an image of a warm creature filled with love.
Feelings basketball
Take a bunch of empty face worksheets and you and the entire family draw the expressions of different emotions on them. Mix those worksheets up and then everyone should choose a face and act out the emotion while dribbling a basketball at the same time. You can’t shoot at the hoop until everyone guesses which emotion you’re acting out.
As you can see, there are many ways to help your child overcome their problems. You just need to be patient and persistent.