Do you often find drawings of flowers, lines, or different geometric designs in the margins of your kid’s notebooks? Or do you catch yourself doodling & scribbling in your dairy while talking to someone on call? Then, congratulations, your brain has successfully stored the information. Yes! You read it right, doodling is actually helpful & beneficial, especially for kids. As per a report by Harvard Health Publishing on thinking & doodling, a simple 30-minute doodling helps people remember information, fill in the gaps in their thinking, and provides a much-needed reprieve from loads of information they must wade through. Doodling directly impacts the way our brain thinks & loads essential information. Do you know, as per popular research conducted by psychologist Jackie Andrade in 2009 on 40 people to remember 2-and-a-half-minute dull & rambling voicemail message and surprisingly only 29% of participants were able to remember the information? These 29% of participants doodled while listening to the voicemail while the rest of the participants were only ‘focussed’ on the voicemail yet were not able to remember more information than participants who doodled.
Before we get into the detail of how doodling benefits kids, let’s understand what is doodling and what popular doodle means;
What is Doodling?
In simple terms, a doodle is an unconscious drawing made by a person while a brain is otherwise occupied. Doodling includes drawings of people, places, and figures such as stars, animals, or abstract line art.
Here’s when kids doodle;
- During a long lecture at school.
- When he/she is bored.
- While talking to someone over the phone.
The above given are only common situations when kids doodle. The act of doodling may vary from person to person.
What do people doodle?
As mentioned earlier in the article, people doodle faces, people, stars, abstract lines, and more. Here’s what a doodle reveals about a person;
- People - if a person draws an image of a person, then it indicates that he/she is a confident human and is an emotionally balanced being.
- Faces - If a person draws a beautiful & attractive face, it implies a positive and optimistic outlook, while an ugly face indicates a negative & distrustful view. The cartoonish face doodle signifies a need for attention.
- Flowers - Flowers are one of the most common doodles that people often draw. It indicates the gentle, passive, and fragile nature of a person. It also signifies the emotional sensitivity of a person.
- Mathematical Figures - Drawing shapes like cubes, squares, rectangles, and more denotes the logical & analytical mindset of a person, someone who thinks more practically than emotionally.
- Arrows - Arrows are another very common doodle drawn by people. Upward arrows express optimism, positivity & motivation whereas downward arrows imply negativity, worry & stress.
Benefit of Doodling
In this section, let’s understand how doodling (conscious or unconscious) benefits us and why doodling at an early age is the best habit.
- Improved Memory - Through various research & surveys, psychologists have proved that doodling helps in the processing & retention of information. For example, in a long lecture, the brain tends to ‘switch off’ and lose control over its thoughts. Doodling in these situations activates the brain and helps fill the gap between ‘thinking’ and processing the information it receives.
- Relieves Stress - Doodling is a great activity for relieving stress and combating anxiety. Psychologist Christine Selby in across a page to help people relax and unwind. Doodling takes your focus away from a ‘disturbing thought’ and makes you calm and stress-free.
- Increased Focus & Concentration - It is often believed that aimless doodling is a sheer waste of time but contrary to this belief, doodling helps in alerting your mind and helps in improving focus & concentration.
- Creativity & Imagination - A simple doodling exercise stimulates creativity & imagination activating different areas of your brain that usually remain dormant while receiving word-heavy information as mentioned by Sunni Brown in her famous book ‘The Doodle Revolution: The Power to Think Differently.’
- Help Express Emotions - As mentioned earlier, what you doodle reflects your subconscious mind. Doodling helps a person understand & express emotions.
Doodle the Right Way
Impressions made in childhood last longer than we can imagine. A child’s mind grasps things more quickly than an adult’s mind. At the same time, teaching them right at the right time is of utmost importance.
To stimulate creativity & imagination in kids, benefit them from doodling, and involve them in sensory activities, here are some top picks from House of Scoobies.
- Wiggly Doodle Board - This is a perfect combination of fidgeting & doodling. This Wiggly Doodle Board comes with beads filled with transparent gel. Along with a backer card, this board lets you create pictures, alphabets, numbers, symbols, and more.
- Doodle Books - Scoobies Doodle Books are available in Unicorn & Space design. It comes with 4 reusable & erasable doodle sheets and 12 washable markers. Let kids write, draw, doodle, and learn.
- Doodle Tees - New in the doodle world, this brings in the concept of doodles on the fabric. It comes in Outer Space & Unicorn design. This is a washable & Reusable cotton tee and comes with 6 fabric markers.
- Silicone Doodle Mats - This is a multi-functional mat and can be used as a coloring mat, placemat, or tableware mat. It is a reusable and erasable mat. It comes in different sizes and designs.
We hope this article made you familiar with doodling and its benefits. So, next time you find your kid doodling, don’t stop it, rather encourage them and indulge yourself too.