How do you get your Child to Discuss his Emotions? Ask him to Draw a Picture of his Interactions with Another Child and then Talk about it

Here is an idea for parents to work with their child to help him to understand how he interacts with other children. Get a dry erase board and of course, dry erase markers. Ask him to draw a story about an interaction between him and another child or other children where something happened that he did not expect. This is a good activity for a child who may be less in touch with his emotions than would be optimal. It may be difficult to get the point across that the picture that he is drawing is personal to him. Whatever he draws at first is a good start, so that you and he can begin a conversation about whatever interaction he is drawing about, whether real or fabricated.


Remember that even if a child writes a fictional account, some of what he is drawing may be related to his real life experiences. One child with whom I work drew a picture in a comic book design about two children on a swing set, one of whom flies so high up in the air that he falls off. It was so interesting that he drew in the restricted pattern of 15 boxes. Children with ADHD work more effectively and more efficiently when they work within a paradigm of structure. Perhaps that is why he chose to draw his story within that design.

Here is a similar picture to the one that he drew. What do you think he was trying to say here?