Enough studies have been done on the effects different colors have on humans (and animals) to fill shelves and shelves of books. Not to mention “color therapy” is a growing discipline with increasing popularity. There are also plenty of people who swear that color not only influences moods, but can bring all sorts of good (and bad) things into your house and life. If all this is true, can the judicious use of color help you parent?
According to the experts, colors like blue, purple and green are all calming colors. Painting a child’s room in blue or a cool green is supposed to help them relax and not feel so “amped up.” I have to admit that I respond especially well to cool greens–not those neon green colors or lime that are so popular now, but the deep green of plants and trees. Stepping into a green room with plenty of plants and green accents makes me feel immediately de-stressed and as if I’ve walked into a greenhouse.
Yellow and orange are considered stimulating, social colors. I think that is why yellow is such an obvious choice for a kitchen. When I think back over some of my favorite kitchens–both in my house and in others, they have either been painted yellow or had plenty of yellow and orange accents in them.
Red is another vibrant, energizing color. Despite its appeal, painting a child’s room with red, or having plenty of red accents and bed coverings could be a real stimulator and keep the bedroom from being a place of rest and one of play and excitement instead. A playroom in reds and yellows could be incredibly stimulating, however, and both of those colors are supposed to contribute to clear thinking and thought development.
I think that experimenting with how your child or children respond to color could be beneficial. I know that I feel differently in rooms depending on how they are painted and decorated and I feel differently in clothes based on what color they are too.
Also: De-stress the Natural Way