700 Children's® - A Blog by Pediatric Experts When Kids Draw Violent Pictures, Should you Worry? Oct 21, 2024 Your 5-year-old proudly hands you a drawing of fairies in battle. You see glittering fairy wings and then notice what looks like blood splatters across the page. For a moment, your heart skips.
When Kids Draw Gory, Disturbing, Explicit or Alarming Pictures Parents expect their kids to come home with drawings of rainbows or smiley faces or family members or other happy scenes that can be hung on the kitchen wall. But what should a parent or teacher do when a child uses their artistic discretion to create scenes that are gory, violent or disturbing? This information is written as a. Understanding Warning Signs in Children's Drawings: the Signs 1.
Graphic or Violent Imagery - Children may sometimes incorporate graphic or violent imagery into their drawings, such as blood, weapons, or aggressive behavior. - This could be a sign of exposure to violence or trauma, either directly or indirectly. Teenage drawing can be both a creative outlet and a window into emotional struggles.
If your son or daughter is consistently sketching disturbing or violent imagery, it could be more than just artistic expression-it might be a silent cry for help. Art is often how young people express emotions they can't put into words. Teachers and administrators are understandably afraid to interpret violent drawings and reach conclusions about their students' ideas or fantasies, capabilities or intentions.
While it is usually teenagers who draw graphic images of dismemberment or mass destruction, elementary school children are referred on occasion for similar reasons. In general, warning signs in children's art may include depictions of violence, aggression, or destruction, as well as explicit or inappropriate sexual imagery. Children may also use art to express feelings of sadness, anxiety, or fear, which could be a sign that they are struggling emotionally.
Kids have vivid imaginations - I was reading and learning about the Aztecs when I was around 10. My younger brothers were 7 and 3 and they began drawing some of the most disturbing drawings of sacrifices (hair standing up on end, knives being waved around dropping blood). 1 I was a leader in a group for 6-9 year olds for a little while, and it was very common for children of this age to draw violent things.
One time we were making nodding chicks as a cute Springtime craft activity, and even then a lot of the kids decided to draw battle scars all over their chicks. Violence against children is a prevalent worldwide phenomenon. Based on evidence that drawings may reveal unconscious conflicts and difficulties, the current study examined violence as reflected in children's drawings and narratives.
Laura M. Prager, HMS assistant professor of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, authored this article about how to handle situations when children draw violent pictures.