There’s something very calming about colouring. The gentle movement of our hands as we colour. The focus. The beautiful rainbow of coloured pencils or felt-pens that we can spread out to choose from.
When we sit and focus on colouring, it relaxes the amygdala, the fear centre of our brains, reducing the production of adrenaline. The gentle focus of colouring can calm a restless mind after a busy or difficult day. Our breathing slows to a more natural rhythm.
As we colour our breathing becomes slower, relaxing us further.
When combined with soft music in the background it can offer us a relaxing and welcome space to be in.
It is effective in calming children and is an activity that can be enjoyed together.
There are many colouring books to choose from. I found one in Lidl that is perfect as it has a combination of simple or complicated pictures, so there is something for the whole family.
Amazon also stocks similar books:
Crayola have some free colouring pages to print : https://www.crayola.com/featured/free-coloring-pages/
Do you and your child enjoy colouring? What resources do you use?
If you’ve never tried it, have a go and let me know how you get on.
Jacqueline x x
