Analyzing children's drawings

amother

Sat, Jan 09 2021, 7:50 pm

I recently came across a news piece about children's drawings and being able to discover if they had been abused. Now I'm always analyzing my kids art and noticing some of the things they showed as red flags. I asked them about it but they seem to be oblivious and innocently drawing it.
They are elementary school age.
Should I be concerned or just let it go?
Has anyone had experience with this?
Any professionals here?

amother

Oak

Sat, Jan 09 2021, 8:03 pm

Therapist here, is there any particular reason that you suspect your child has been abused?

It won't help to ask them, especially if they're young, as drawing comes from the subconscious.

oneofakind

Sat, Jan 09 2021, 8:54 pm

If you are concerned, talk to a professional. Even for a professional, it's irresponsible to diagnose just from drawings.
Do you suspect something happened? How are they functioning?

bigsis144

Sat, Jan 09 2021, 8:58 pm

I really feel uncomfortable with over analyzing stuff like this, especially if it’s assigning esoteric meanings to things like stars or clouds...

I also don’t put much stock in dream interpretations, either.

No licensed mental health professional will diagnose things from a picture, no way.

I doubt that hidden trauma that is not visible ANYWHERE ELSE is going to be discovered by seeing a repeated motif of rain or horses or whatever. Or oh my gosh, they drew one person inside the house and one person outside the house, that is a sign of isolation and depression.

If a child seems to obsessively draw the same scenario over and over, that may say something, but at that point you would probably see other signs.

My 8 year son hasn’t drawn anything but battle scenes (people fighting monsters with swords, with arrows, with TNT, with flaming hedgehogs...) for probably years now. But that’s just the tip of the “there is something atypical going on in this kid’s psyche” iceberg.

Last edited by bigsis144 on Sat, Jan 09 2021, 9:00 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Sat, Jan 09 2021, 8:59 pm

They seem fine.nothing out of the ordinary. I actually asked them straight out if anyone ever touched them or did something they were uncomfortable with. They came up with stuff like their cousin hit them while playing etc..nothing that seemed off.

bigsis144

Sat, Jan 09 2021, 9:03 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Don’t plant ideas in their heads, either.

It’s very hard when you’re concerned about a specific thing, and I’m sorry that your life experience has left you traumatized in this area. Please make sure that YOU get help dealing with the aftermath of abuse.

amother

Mauve

Sat, Jan 09 2021, 9:08 pm

Classic story from my psych professor:
The kid was drawing a pic of a house, and he put bars on the windows, a fence with barbed wire, and a pic of himself in the yard. A psychologist could have a field day analyzing it!
He asked the kid why he drew the that picture. He answered, " That's my house." It turned out, the kid just lived in a really bad neighborhood. (Shootings, druggies, etc ). Sometimes a picture is just a picture.

amother

Oak

Sat, Jan 09 2021, 9:32 pm

I hear why you're worrying about your kids. It would really be in your and their best interest not to try to analyze their drawings. It's not intended to be used as a diagnostic tool. Therapists don't usually interpret children's drawing like that.