Art therapy: the benefits of creativity in children's lives

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

For the fifth time, a lullaby has been sung, the third fairy tale has been read, and the baby still does not let you go and begs you not to extinguish the night light. Why? Because over there, behind the closet, sits a babayka, and he will definitely jump out as soon as darkness falls in the room!

In addition to the evil babayka, children are still afraid of a lot of things: going to the doctor, staying in kindergarten before afternoon tea, their own uncle. Sometimes even experienced parents find themselves at a dead end. Then art therapy comes to the rescue …

What is art therapy?

Perhaps all children love to play, draw and make sounds from musical instruments. The natural attraction to creativity is competently used by psychologists to clarify and solve many problems.

Children are unable to restrain feelings and instantly splash them out in drawing, play, fantasies.

The fact is that children have a very strong connection between the conscious and the unconscious. They are unable to restrain feelings and instantly splash them out in drawing, play, fantasies. Actually, this is therapy: the child relieves emotional stress and tries to solve the problem without driving it deeper. If the kid cannot do it himself, an adult should come to the rescue.

Art therapy is divided into isotherapy, fairy tale therapy, music therapy and game therapy. Let's take a closer look at each method.

Isotherapy

Drawing is especially drawn to children between the ages of 2 and 5. During this period, the drawing is a mirror that reflects the child's ideas about the world around him, his impressions. You think that the kid makes "kalyaki-malyaki", but in fact, such children's creativity is of great importance!

In addition to the fact that the child develops fine motor skills, and with it memory, speech and thinking, he also expresses his emotions. However, this cannot be done without the help of parents.

For example, your toddler is afraid of the dark. Discuss with him what the monster that scares him looks like, and ask the child to draw him on a piece of paper. Then carefully study the drawing and disassemble these scary horns, eyes, and ears of the monster with the baby. And then try to make it funny (draw a hat, bows, high-heeled shoes) or small (ask to draw a group of huge kind heroes next to it).

You can also mold that very monster out of plasticine, and then crush it and mold a little bunny. So in the subconscious of the child, the scheme “was, but turned into good”, “was and is not,” will very quickly arise, and it will work in real life.

An important point: when the painting or craft is finished, discuss the result with your child. What is the mood, state, character of the hero? Just do not give ratings "similar - unlike", "beautiful - ugly." Praise your baby anyway.

Several such isotherapy sessions - and the child will forget about his fears.

Fairytale therapy

The computerization of the modern world, alas, has a negative effect on the child's psyche. Children lose the habit of books and hear less and less oral stories from their parents.

But such a magical story can work miracles!

For example, sister Alyonushka and brother Ivanushka will help to establish not the most friendly relations between your children, the weather. Talk to the kids about the actions of the heroes and the development of events. Specify how they would act in a similar situation, and then ask them to come up with an ending for the story. You will be surprised how unanimously your little playfuls can think and how they stand up for each other!

Music therapy

This type of art therapy can just become a part of life, with calm music playing in the background while playing or painting. It is a great pleasure for a child to create music by himself. To do this, he will need simple musical instruments: a drum, a tambourine, a metallophone, a pipe, spoons, bells.

Some of them help to calm down an overly played child: after a noisy game, give him a triangle, a metallophone or bells so that he plays a gentle melody for his favorite toy.

A drum or tambourine will help to take out anger, resentment, aggression, irritation.

But a drum or a tambourine will help to take out anger, resentment, aggression, irritation. Encourage your toddler to hit as hard as he wants, and help him tap out some rhythm. Carried away by the process, the child, after a musical session, may not even remember the reason for his anger.

Play therapy

Not all parents know that it is in the game that the child becomes himself: he learns to communicate with others, make decisions, and begins to think more flexibly.

Therefore, observing the process of the game, you can draw conclusions about the mood and state of your baby, and then help correct them and even heal the only incipient psychological trauma. After all, if you do not get rid of children's "horror films" in time, they can take on irreparable forms!

The most effective and accessible is considered to be a role-playing game, that is, playing with dolls. Our children usually give their dolls the names of loved ones. Observe: "mom" and "dad" walk by the hand - everything is favorable in the family, "grandfather" loudly bass and swears - the child is afraid of him, the dolls quarrel or the kid does not want to be friends with them - the conflict is obvious.

Children find themselves in the role of a good or an evil hero, learning to empathize and understand others.

Already at the age of 2, children willingly play tag, blind man's buff, hide and seek, evil and good heroes. Such games provide not only physical development, but also getting rid of fears. The little ones take turns first becoming "caught" by their fears and then "catching" their fears. And games such as "Cossack robbers", "shooters" and "geese-swans", free from negative emotions. Children find themselves in the role of a good or an evil hero, learning to empathize and understand others.

As you can see, art therapy methods are available to every parent and are incredibly effective. The main thing is to adhere to the following rules:

You can and should:

• Be next to
• Approve
• Prompt
• Discuss the results of creativity

It is forbidden:

• Evaluate
• Force
• Blame
• Actively help