Have you ever wondered what your toddlers doodles actually were? Are they a picasso in the making? Well new research from Crayola has been an eye opener. 700 children aged between 18 and 36 months
Have you ever wondered what your toddlers doodles actually were? Are they a picasso in the making? Well new research from Crayola has been an eye opener. 700 children aged between 18 and 36 months took part, with the results being analysed by internationally renowned graphoplogist who was able to pull out key pieces of information from each doodle based on colour and doodle structure.
What interested me was that it was more than just analysing the shape, but they also can tell whether they were stressed, happy, confident etc. by looking at the use of colour and the structure of the doodles. The survey threw up some interesting findings. Twice the number of girls chose to draw in purple than boys with 68% of all children who chose purple being girls, as opposed to only 31% of boys. “Purple can mean that someone is bossy or confident and is happy to call the shots, this quite often the case with girls at this age.” Said Elaine Quigley, the Graphologist involved in the survey.
Fuelling the current gender debate, the survey revealed that 72% of those children who chose blue, the colour most widely associated with sociability, were boys. Red, which can depict energy and activeness, was a favourite colour used equally by boys and girls however the Graphologist expressed concern that the number of children choosing red could indicate a prevalence of stressed out children in nurseries.
Regional variations highlighted that East Anglian children were the happiest in the UK, with over 24% of them choosing to doodle in yellow, indicating a sunny disposition! Did I mention I grew up in East Anglia?
Elaine Quigley Senior Graphologist who analysed all of the doodles said: “This was a complex project, as children can be influenced by variations of moods and spurts of energy. However there was interesting creativity and potential indicated, providing useful information to enable teachers to give appropriate encouragement, as well as providing a deeper insight to what motivated their charges.”
Mia Roth, Senior Brand Manager for Crayola is fascinated by the findings: “This has been an incredibly in-depth survey which has revealed some interesting insights into children’s development and how big a part colour plays in their daily lives. Every child has a unique way of expressing themselves through creative play and these findings highlight how influential colour choice can be in defining their character in the early years.”
What better way to check the results, than to give your child some Crayola Pip-Squeaks and see what they create.
