Art Therapy for Kids
Recently I came across this article published by the Children’s History Society (UK) in 2022: Child art in the historical record: A timeline. At the top of the short selection, it describes the world’s oldest parietal art recently found in Quesang, Tibet. More likely made by two children of ages 7 and 12, they were hand and foot impressions placed in soft travertine. The tracks were made roughly between 169,000 and 229,000 years ago. The deliberate nature of these impressions gives us a reason to believe that the oldest art was likely created by children. When I read more, I couldn’t stop thinking, what might have been the state of mind of these children while making these impressions? If these prints were really intentional, I would like to think they were just having fun.
Undoubtedly, there’s tons of research on what art does. But I think it comes down to happiness and ways to reach that happy state of mind. Margaret Naumberg (1890-1983), an American psychologist, is widely recognized as the pioneer of art therapy. She opened the nursery school called Walden, which people perceived as a movement to “free the arts.” The Walden School (New York City) implemented Freud’s theories to create art psychotherapy. Naumberg always emphasized “the development of children’s capacities,” not the “accumulation of knowledge,” and she implemented it in her teaching methods. Years of research show that art therapy helps boost cognition, concentration, self-awareness, emotional resilience, and motor skills, especially for individuals who find visual imagery more effective.
Now, I don’t have to tell you who finds visual expressions more effective. In their early years, children learn by touch, sounds, vision, and curiosity. Art therapy can help them regulate emotions and express themselves. The Internet offers countless art activities that can help support your children’s or even your emotional well-being.
At the end, it is important to note that art therapy is not a cure for anything. Art therapy works as a stress relief; it helps process the emotions. Like any other treatment, its effectiveness varies by individual. Take it as merely a tool but a powerful one that is best handled by specialists.
The Canadian Art Therapy Association will hold its 47th annual conference online this November. This year’s theme: Embodying Art and Healing Ecologies.
