A picture IS worth OVER a THOUSAND words here, translated…
One night, I had a serious argument with my husband, right after that, my second year kindergarten daughter drew a “thunderstorm” to give to me, in the picture, a person was, wrapped up and around by the messy strings, like s/he was, being attacked by the storms.
My daughter pointed and explained to me, “This person got burned alive………”, I was, so shocked, doesn’t that reflect how I’d felt, so angered, in the argument I’d had with my husband? But, it also may be how my daughter was in fear, watching us fight.
I’d taken the painting from her, patted her head, told her thanks, and asked her, “Can you draw another, happier person?”. she’d nodded, she’d immediately gone and drawn a smiley “apple man”. I’d hugged her and kissed her; and, all the anger and fear were, melted, into the smiley face of the apple now, and, already gone, blown away, by the lashing winds from her previous painting too.
On another day, her preschool teacher wanted the class to try to draw what they may see up in the skies, the twins drew the family and flowers together, mom looked like she was drawn by Picasso by my older twin son, it was, very, exhilarating for me to see, and, of all the people that my younger twin daughter drew, only I am colorful.
My daughter pointed to the green things by the side of my body, and told me, “This, is mommy’s hands, very big!”, “Why is it so big?”, she’d shyly came towards me, patted my arm, as I was, doing the dishes, told me, “Because it is………”, then, she ran to play.
I thought to myself, this child may be impressed, with how much household chores I’d done per day? After she’d, made it concrete, it’d, turned into, thick arms, all of a sudden, I felt, very happy, like, I’d, received, a sort of an affirmation………and, I’d, lowered my head and looked, and, it’d, made me laugh, ahhhhhhhhh, supposedly, she’s, only impressed by how flabby my arms are getting over the years………
So, from this interaction between the parent and her children, you can see, how the kids express themselves, NOT in words, but in pictures, and, it’s up to the adults, to properly and correctly, interpret what these kids are drawing, because, art is NEVER just art for children, it may be, the children, expressing their fears or troubles they didn’t know how to tell you, parents about, so, learn, to READ between the lines, mommies and daddies!