How many of us as an adult have meditated with a pen and paper? Can we just learn this from our kids?! Sounds odd?!
Let's talk about line therapy and how it helps kids and adults alike! We introduce colours to our kids at their tender age. Why do we do that? Kids love to scribble given any art supply (be it a crayon, colour pencils or pens). This act of scribbling is known to give the kids a moment of meditation even without their knowledge- and that forms the basis of line therapy.
Colouring outside the lines- is it wrong?!
As parents, we expect the child to colour within the lines. The child's free will and creativity are restricted when you tell them what to do. We have absolutely no clue on what the child's mind is thinking at that time. Instead, we need to let kids colour as they please and only guide them- instead of forcing our ideas on to the young minds.
As an artist mom, I have seen these expectations in parents when the child colours or draws.
- When will the child become a DaVinci? (Yes!!! This is the very first expectation from most parents!)
- Does the child need a new colouring book?
- When will the child colour inside the circle?
The process of learning an art needs to be smooth and gradual for kids and as adults, we need to understand that we cannot impose rules while learning the art. The child makes umpteen mistakes to draw a circle (I have said circle and not a perfect circle!). But it is up to the parents to not pose rules or use an act of bribery to help the child draw perfectly.
But to encourage, even an elongated circle is a form of a circle and can be associated to draw any figures. This idea stays with the child and they learn about the circle and the associated figure out of it. This is where the creative process begins. The child now thinks on his own to do more and comes up with his own creations. The creativity flows automatically.
And after trying, when the kids come to you for help- parents can chip in with ideas (not execution!) to help the kids explore their creativity further. This varies from individuals as kids and parents. While some show a natural tendency to liking arts, other kids might not. Parents need to understand this basic difference.
So how does this line therapy work? Fill the page with lines! That's it!
But we have a catch here!
The catch is, we cannot expect the lines to be all neat and perfect from a child. So how do we go about it?
Basics of line therapy:
1. Start with lines (straight or wiggly or curvy, however way it is!) to fill up the space.
2. Fill again with lines in between the initial lines.
3. Continue till the white space is filled.
This rule holds good for the starters! But to older kids, the filling up of space with lines is just the beginning of the mediation process. Their focus and concentration improve as they practice this method.
This is exactly how doodling also works. It is a random act of the mind to calm itself. Mindlessly the kids scribble but inside it's actually a calming process for the child. We do need to relax here and there! Drawing lines in a steady pace help the mind to relax, keep calm for any individual. Younger kids may not focus while drawing. But the elder kids can definitely get onto it and begins to enjoy!
This can be said as a warm session to the tired or an excited mind! Go on, try this line therapy and tell us how your kids loved it.
Janvi Chitalia
Mansi Zaveri
Janani S Koushik
Neha Savla
