Probably everyone knows about the power of the color palette. One color can be annoying and the other, on the contrary, can calm. And it's no secret that the right selection of colors is the key to a good mood. In addition, color therapy is used in the treatment of mental illness, as well as for the harmonious development of children. What this method consists of and how to use it is about this in today's article.
What is color therapy?
The word "therapy" means treatment, and is also often used in the context of prevention. This procedure is a non-drug method of treatment using color, is not addictive, and is also absolutely safe for children. Thanks to the numerous use of individual elements of this method in practice, the effectiveness of color therapy to strengthen the psychological and physical development of babies has been revealed.
Application
Color therapy covers a huge range of treatment of various diseases using certain techniques. First of all, such a procedure is used to correct the psycho-emotional state of the child. In medical practice, the positive properties of color therapy have been identified:
- reveals problems of the central nervous system;
- treats neurosises;
- relieves children's anxiety;
- struggling with pathological fears;
- removes apathy and irritability;
- It helps to soothe hyperactive children and stir up too lazy, inhibited children.
But color therapy techniques have found application not only for the correction of children's psychological background, but also for the treatment of internal organs. When applying certain techniques, color can cure asthma, flu, diabetes, gastritis, tuberculosis, paralysis of all kinds, and even cancer.
According to experts, a different color spectrum affects the organs of the endocrine system, which are responsible for the production of hormones - the pineal gland and the pituitary gland. Thus, with the help of color effects, it is possible to regulate the production of certain hormones. Thanks to the different colors that surround the child, unique results can be achieved.
Numerous use of various color therapy techniques in practice has clearly shown effectiveness to strengthen the physical and psychological development of preschool children. This color treatment was used in ancient times. Today in modern medicine, the positive effect of color therapy on the condition of children is noted. Various methods of non-drug treatment help to strengthen the health of babies and improve their adaptation to adulthood.
There are two types of color effects:
- With the help of vision - perceiving various colors with our eyes, in this way we provoke the activity of a chemical chain reaction, which subsequently leads to the release of various types of hormones in the body.
- Through human skin. This method consists in electromagnetic radiation in the form of light through the tissues of the human body, which charges the internal organs with the necessary energy and activates the internal processes of the body.
The effect of color on the body
All children are individual in their own way, their reaction to the surrounding reality may be different. But as a rule, their choice of color is initially associated with an emotional and mental state. In the next video you can learn about the features of color therapy and color treatment of children.
We offer to consider the specifics of some colors separately.
- Red - increases psychological and physical activity, and also stimulates blood circulation and increases appetite. This color is liked by restless and hyperactive children. Specialists recommend using red color in the interior of the dining room and kitchen. And to prevent bad and intermittent sleep, you should avoid this color in the baby’s bedroom.
- Orange is the color of a good mood and a sense of joy. He is most loved by funny and positive kids. In color therapy, orange is used to treat nervous breakdowns, neurosis, and depression.
- Yellow - helps to give confidence and good mood. This sunny color contributes to the development of memory, the elimination of fears and various kinds of depressive states. Among other things, yellow helps fight fears, increase the vitality of the child, have a beneficial effect on digestion and improve mood.
- Green - represents inner harmony and tranquility. As a rule, he is chosen by children who lack maternal love. This color has a positive effect on sleep and has a calming effect. Green is used to treat headaches and normalize blood pressure.
- Blue. This color is chosen by quiet and calm children, who tend to dream. In color therapy, blue is used in the fight against infectious diseases.
- Blue - helps to give the baby calm and self-confidence. This color is preferred by balanced children who do not tend to rush somewhere. Also, the blue color can lower the pressure.
- Violet has a calming effect. In color therapy, this color is used to relieve stress and nervous conditions. Usually, violet color is liked by natures with a fine mental organization. As a rule, vulnerable and emotional babies who have a predisposition to spiritual development choose this color.
- Black and white have no tone and are rarely used in color therapy. When choosing a black child, you should consult a specialist, as this serves as an alarm.
Color Therapy Exercises
We found that color therapy can eliminate many of the psychological and emotional states of children. It is worth considering that children under 2-3 years old can only distinguish achromatic colors, such as white and black. After three years, with appropriate training, the child will already be able to distinguish many colors. At this time, you can already begin to teach the baby to choose the color he needs. For example, the sky is blue, the grass is green, and the sun is yellow. During the exercises on color therapy, children should be periodically given time to rest, when they can draw with pencils and paints in any form. During this time, children can draw circles, lines, flowers, which will give them the opportunity to relax and get positive emotions. These exercises can be used both in childcare facilities and at home. Next, we will talk about the most effective color therapy exercises for preschool children.
"Magical city"
In order to start playing color therapy, play with the children of the older group, suggest that the child build a house out of cubes, where colorful residents will live. It is important that the color of the character matches the house in which he lives. Residents can be bright little men, various animals or fictional characters. Together with your child, think about why these people chose this or that color. Tell him how color and mood can change. When conducting color therapy for children, games of this kind perfectly help develop the imagination of a preschooler.
"Light the rainbow"
This exercise is to invite a child or group of children to create a rainbow. It can be made anywhere and from anything - ribbons, cubes, colorful balls and much more will do. After which, the child will be able to make a wish under the rainbow.
Painting
Preschool children are not always able to express their feelings and emotions in words. Therefore, drawing can be used as an exercise in color therapy for children. This process will help the child create a special harmonious colorful world where he can throw out his emotions. In turn, the teacher will be able to identify what worries the baby and offer a solution to the problem in a playful way.
"Magic water"
For this exercise, you need to pour plain water into a transparent glass cup and put on a color picture. When color therapy for children, the color of the stand is desirable to choose based on the characteristics of the child, since water is able to absorb color energy. For example, if you need to calm an excited baby - take the green color as the basis. After deciding on the color, look with the child at the bottom of the glass and offer to drink the contents of the child in slow sips.
"Emerald City"
It is advisable to conduct the following color therapy exercise for children to music. The baby's task is to: close his eyes and introduce himself in the Emerald City. It is important that the child presents in detail each element of an imaginary city. Such a session should not exceed 10 minutes, after which the baby should be asked to depict what he saw on the sheet.
“We draw with our fingers”
This technique has a lot of advantages: in addition to the fact that this exercise helps to cope with laziness and irritability and eliminate aggression, it also develops fine motor skills. Such an exercise in color therapy in children 5 and 6 years old corrects excessive hyperactivity, which can be harmful to the baby in the learning process.
For example, invite your child to draw a favorite character from a fairy tale with the fingers and colors on the album sheet. Firstly, not every child at this age is good at owning paints, pencils or felt-tip pens, and secondly, it will be interesting for any kid to try something new.
Such an exercise at first glance seems easy to use, but knowing the specifics of color therapy and the effect of colors on the psyche of a child, we can confidently say that it will add confidence to the baby, reduce aggressiveness, and most importantly, instill a desire to learn new knowledge and learn.
"The color of my mood"
The exercise is as follows: children need to put in front of themselves an album sheet, which shows the silhouette of a person. The kids are given the task of revealing the mood of this person and coloring them with the colors that, in their opinion, are most suitable.
"Draw a name"
For this exercise, the child must provide an album for drawing and colored pencils or felt-tip pens, and then offer to draw his name. In the process, you can turn on muffled music, and then the baby needs to present his picture and explain why he imagines his name.
"Colored rain"
This exercise is great for color therapy for children with disabilities. For this exercise, you need to create a tent or house of multi-colored satin ribbons. Firstly, children can learn the ropes and play with the rain with them, and secondly, it will be interesting for the kids to hide and play there.
The ribbons must be arranged according to the color principle of the rainbow. For example, an annoyed baby can be invited to cool down and run under the cold colors of ribbons, and a frustrated or sad one can be warmed up in warm sunshine.
Color therapy exercises for children with disabilities
Such children are characterized by defective pronunciation of sounds, a small vocabulary, inability to make sentences. In addition to the above, in children with disabilities, one can observe a lack of motor activity, including poor coordination of fine motor skills. As a rule, such children have a poorly developed concentration of attention, logical thinking suffers. Therefore, it is important for them to use original and creative methods when conducting color therapy.
Fairy Cloud
For this exercise, it is first necessary to prepare pieces of translucent tissue, tulle or organza is well suited. The essence of color therapy exercises for children with disabilities is as follows: a fairy invites her to visit, but for this you need to get to her on colorful clouds. After that, the children are wrapped in cloth and through it they see how the world is changing. This exercise helps to develop the perception of shades and learn how to notice how color changes when one paint is applied to another. For example, through a green piece of material, look at purple.
“Guess what it is”
Using a paint of a certain color, put a few dots on the album sheet with your fingers and ask the child “What is shown in this picture?”. It is important that the child connects his imagination and suggests as many options as possible. Such an exercise perfectly reduces psychological stress, and also helps to develop imagination.
"Orange color"
This exercise helps eliminate stiffness, isolation, and shyness. Pre-make a blank: apply glue to thick cardboard and pour millet groats on it, distributing it throughout the sheet. After drying completely, give it to the child. The kid needs to paint this canvas with orange finger paint. In the process, you can turn on the music.
"Green inhabitants of the forest"
This game is best done with a group of children. The bottom line is: each child calls a forest inhabitant - an animal, bird, insect - green (a grasshopper, a green butterfly, a frog, a green parrot, and so on), after which you need to be warned when the music starts to play, you must also move as an invented hero. That is, the grasshopper will jump, the butterfly will fly, the frog will jump. And when the music stops, the children in the form of animals should stop and freeze in place. The game can be repeated several times. It is not necessary that the forest inhabitants are green, you can choose any other.
"Make a picture"
Glue the pieces of cotton wool in the form of clouds on the album sheet first. To the music of "Bird Singing", decorate the sky with your child. Show him how you can mix the colors of blue and white to get the desired shade of blue. Add to this picture a bright sun, green grass and what the baby wants.
Finally
Since childhood, we have been surrounded by a colorful world of the earth, which is imperceptibly able to influence the mood and human health. Unlike adults, young children are more sensitive to different colors. It is important to carefully consider the mood swings of children. With the help of color therapy, preschool children can cheer up or relieve them of sadness. Bright colors help to form the artistic component of the child, develop imagination, and also expand the vocabulary of the preschooler.