KOZHIKODE: Parents, be attentive to what your children draw or scribble as it may hold clues to their emotions and thoughts. The Delhi incident, in which crayon strokes and illustrations of a 10-year-old helped to nab her rapist, has prompted the child protection units in the state to give due importance to providing training to counsellors on analysing drawings and illustrations made by children.
Kerala State Council for Child Welfare general secretary S P Deepak told Express drawings and small notes of children always reveal their feelings. “We have started to provide regular training to counsellors on analysing the drawings and tiny scribblings made by children,” he said.
“It is important to have experts to decode these scribbles as they may contain vital clues to kids’ trauma which they often do not express verbally.”In case of the Delhi girl, her illustrations helped therapists find certain clues prompting investigators to unearth the missing links in the probe.
“We have been able to identify a few sexual abuse victims after analysing notebooks of children. Experts find certain hints in little scribbles and figures drawn by children in some corner of their text books or notebooks. By conducting further inquiry, we have been able to trace the crime,” Deepak said, adding how children use tools they are comfortable with to communicate and it is the responsibility of adults to identify it.
Experts say it is important to pay attention to sketches of figures resembling sexual organs or figures of large palms and hands. Parents usually fail to read these signs from the pictures drawn by their kids and tend to dump them.
Childline Kerala Coordinator Manoj Joseph said in a majority of sexual abuse cases, the parents get to know their children are the victims only when they show physical discomfort, warranting medical intervention. “Small children generally do not disclose such things while older children do it. Certain incidents create hard impressions on the mind of the children and they reflect on them.
It is imperative the writings and drawings of children are analysed as the impressions may find a channel to form expressions,” he said.Joseph said Childline counsellors are trained on decipher such kinds of expressions whether it is in the form of scribblings, drawings or notes.
Drawings and small notes of children always reveal their feelings. We have started to provide regular training to counsellors on analysing the drawings and tiny scribblings made by children
Kerala State Council for Child Welfare general secretary S P Deepak