Children seeing auras

[krelnik]

About three months ago my newly turned three year old started to describe to me that he see's 'candles'.

"Mummy has a red one, " and he puts his palm to his forehead

"daddy's is black" and puts his palm on top of his head

"Katie's is green" points to his chin

Now I am only just starting to research this, that is how I found my way to you guys, and am far from understanding the logical scientific explanations, but I am open to opinion (as long as you are gentle with me! lol),

It sounds to me like a classic description of synaethesia (read about it on wikipedia).

Some estimate that as many as 1 in 23 people have it (others say 1 in 2000). There is nothing to be alarmed about, it is just an interesting perceptual quirk that some people experience, it does no harm.

Everything you've said (about him seeing the colors even when shown a photo, and the colors being consistent) seems very consistent with this to me.

Here's more on synaesthesia causing people to see "auras" on The Skeptic's Dictionary: http://skepdic.com/auras.html#synaesthesia

Hope that helps.

 

[sophia8]

Krelnik, that's a very interesting suggestion. Reinforces what I said about the importance of finding out what "candles" actually mean to the child.

 

[Niobe]

So then, if one takes a child into a restroom the child will be able to reliably tell you which stalls are unoccupied? Wanna bet?

Ha, my 3 year old can't even see people when they're right in front of her

 

[devnull]

If not aura's then what?

hmmm...... my initial guess would be that you're completely making this up. My second guess would be that you are leading him, and have confirmation bias. My third guess would be that there is something else in the photo that acts as a visual cue for him, its a fun game, and it seems to make mummy happy.

I wonder if some sort of protocol could be created for your son? I cant think of one off the top of my head, but maybe someone else can?

A million dollars sure would help with college

EDIT: Oh yeh, krelnik mentioned synaethesia, thats what it is more than likely..... good call.

 

[butterflysista]

Have you tried to find out what he means by "candles"? As a mother and grandmother, my experience of toddlers ( ie. 2 - 3 yo) is that their language use is pretty rudimentary and they don't always get the meanings, or pronunciation, of words right. You might be hearing "candle", but he might be saying/meaning something else entirely. So you could ask him to draw a "candle".

Hi Sophia8, thanks for your suggestions. My son turned three last November and he had a birthday cake with candles and the lights were off. He very much liked the candles and made us relight them sevaral times.

It was probley about three weeks after that that he described to me while lying in bed as he was getting sleepier and sleepier that mummy has a 'candle'.

He pronounciation is perfect. He is quite an avid little talker, like him mum lol.

I think, after he saw the candles in the dark and how they eminate a soft glow into the darkness, he finally had a NAME he could put to what he had been seeing when he looks at people.

We have sat together on the computer and I took one of the family photo's and 'painted' where he describes the candle is and in it's colour. My mum for instance, he told me, it had to be 'bigger bigger' and 'spinning faster faster', above her head.

As for getting him to describe it he is quite passionate. He takes his pointer finger and spins it as fast as he can, and reaches far above his head, (when it is positioned around the head area). Otherwise if it is the arm for instance, then he says it is long down the arm, and so on.

As for drawing, well when he has drawn his mummy, he draws her as a spinning ball, primarily in the colours he has described me as, and also his neice, in the colour blue that he had told me of a couple of months prior.

 

[butterflysista]

It sounds to me like a classic description of synaethesia

Thank you krelnic, that was a very intersting read. Some of it went over my head, but I think I grasped the basics.

The only thing is Jonathan being only 3, its hard to ask him if his colours are associated to tastes, numbers and smells. From what he has said so far, it seems to only be present enough to him in people. Unless there is another form of synaesthesia that is similar to where some people relate numbers or letters to personality???

Parhaps my son is seeing people in colours that relate to certain personality's? Example: Red-passionate and energetic, Green-healing, Black- unhealthy habits, Yellow-happy ect ect (these are just pot luck examples to make a point)?

Quote from Wikipedia on synaethesia:

"T’s are generally crabbed, ungenerous creatures. U is a soulless sort of thing. 4 is honest, but… 3 I cannot trust… 9 is dark, a gentleman, tall and graceful, but politic under his suavity"

– Synesthetic subject report in Calkins 1893, p. 454

"I [is] a bit of a worrier at times, although easy-going; J [is] male; appearing jocular, but with strength of character; K [is] female; quiet, responsible..."

– Synesthetic subject MT report in Cytowic 2002, p. 298

Hmmm maybe, just a thought?

Anyway, maybe a trip to a GP wouldn't hurt. Thank-you again, much appreciated, food for thought.

 

[butterflysista]

hmmm...... my initial guess would be that you're completely making this up. My second guess would be that you are leading him, and have confirmation bias. My third guess would be that there is something else in the photo that acts as a visual cue for him, its a fun game, and it seems to make mummy happy.

Hey Devnul, I'm not sure how many bored people you get on this forum, who like wasting peoples valuable time in making things up, but I am a genuine enquirer looking for other explanations from people who are maybe a little more educated on matters of science than I am.

As for leading him, it was my son that spoke of it first to me. I did do a series of questions the folowing day when he was more focused on what he was saying in front of his father, in order to write it all down accurately, but believe you me, I know I was very careful to not lead him in the questioning. It is very important to me to let my children have there own opinions and thoughts on matters without too much of my own personal influence or beliefs, just as my father did with me.

As for the photo exercise, I did this only just yesterday on the basis of some of the previous posts. I too was curious to see if he can detet this in a photo or just in person.

My son gets plenty of love and attention from his mum as it is, he does not have a need to try to gain added attention in this way. I listen as much to his stories of funny monkeys as I do to his candles.

Btw, I started searching this out at this point in time as it was my son that brought the matter up once again to me after about 3 weeks of no discussion on the matter. As he said, he took a white candle to play group, he hid it and took it 'cos it likes to play with the kids, but he dropped it and broke it, and was very upset he broke it and in turn it burned his finger. Now don't ask me! I have no idea what this means! I am just the 'woo-woo' (got to love that technical term! lmho) that has taken it upon herself to try to help her child in what he is experiencing and yet be objective and fair on both sides.

 

[Aardvark422]

Butterflysista, I don't think you are making up your story about your son, but there can be answers to what he is telling you, what he is experiencing, that don't rely upon the supernatural. Children are strange and wonderful little beasts with ways of viewing the world that we forget about as we get older. My 5 y/o only child niece will tell hour long stories about her 40 foot tall brother, Jack, and if you ask her weeks later, she will tell the stories again with the exact same detail. Do we believe that she actually has an imaginary, 40 foot tall brother? No, of course not.

I also don't believe that anyone was implying that you don't give your son attention, but just that children will tend to repeat behaviours that illicit positive responses, no matter how much attention they already receive.

 

[devnull]

Hey Devnul, I'm not sure how many bored people you get on this forum, who like wasting peoples valuable time in making things up, but I am a genuine enquirer looking for other explanations from people who are maybe a little more educated on matters of science than I am.

Oh, please dont be offended - I was merely throwing out possibilities from my own perspective.

I think synesthesia is the answer you seek.

 

[krelnik]

The only thing is Jonathan being only 3, its hard to ask him if his colours are associated to tastes, numbers and smells. From what he has said so far, it seems to only be present enough to him in people. Unless there is another form of synaesthesia that is similar to where some people relate numbers or letters to personality???

Check the link to the skepdic article on auras, it appears there are cases where synaesthesics will associate colors with things that have emotional resonance, including people. In the paper cited, people (by name or photo) who were personally known to the subject were more likely to elicit a rection.

Here's a link to the original article that skepdic cites: Emotionally mediated synaesthesia by Jamie Ward.

Here's the researcher who wrote that article: Jamie Ward, University of Sussex

You should email him, and ask him about your son. He might be able to give you some good advice.

Parhaps my son is seeing people in colours that relate to certain personality's? Example: Red-passionate and energetic, Green-healing, Black- unhealthy habits, Yellow-happy ect ect (these are just pot luck examples to make a point)?

Perhaps. This might explain the incident where he reported someone's candle changing. It does fit with the emotion element in Jamie Ward's paper.

I would caution you not to over-interpret it, this is exactly what gets the "aura" people into trouble.

 

[butterflysista]

Thank-you all for your constructive advice and opinions. You have been very helpful. As I said, its nice to get others perspectives and experience on something you yourself have no answers for.

I will follow up on those article krelnik, they sound very close to what my son is experiencing. Thank-you for taking the time to research your information and providing the links.

I have not taken offence Devnul, I guess it is evident by my replies I am genuine, I just felt I needed to defend myself and my child, perhapa I did come across a little devensive! Nothing like a mothers scorn!

Thanks for everything...

 

[biostudent]

Butterflysista, I don't know if this will make you feel any better because the story is not exactly the same, but when I was a kid, I imagined blue lines connecting family members. I was pretty convinced that I could follow the blue line to my mother any time I wanted, and that I would never be lost. I remember this clearly, and it was all imagination. I even knew at the time that it was imaginary, but sometimes I was able to make myself believe it and I would confuse the mental images of blue lines with real memories. I was around 3 at the time. I can't remember my age specifically because it was before I could count. But anyway, it was all totally imaginary.

 

[devnull]

My daughter just turned 2, and can count to 10 in both english and spanish. She can identify the numbers, and is forever telling you what the different numbers are that she sees (house numbers etc)

Couldnt count at 3 hey? Just how bad do you feel now?

hehehhehe

 

[biostudent]

My daughter just turned 2, and can count to 10 in both english and spanish. She can identify the numbers, and is forever telling you what the different numbers are that she sees (house numbers etc)

Couldnt count at 3 hey? Just how bad do you feel now?

hehehhehe

I don't, lol. I know that lots of kids can count by that age. I wasn't one of them. I didn't learn how to count until I started school. Now, it's possible that I could blindly repeat back "onetwothree..." but I didn't actually know what numbers really meant until I was in school. (same with the alphabet. It wasn't until school that I discovered that "L M N O P" were different letters. Previously to that, I had thought they were one word: ellemenopee.)

My kid is 3 and he can barely speak. His father didn't start speaking until age 4 and he now has a Ph.D. in math, so I'm not hugely worried. (regardless, we do have him in some special programs, but I don't think they're affecting his development any. They just seem to make the parents feel better. )

edit: oh BTW is that your daughter in your avatar? Cutie.

 

[butterflysista]

Thanks biostudent for your reply. I guess time will reveal more hints as to what my son is seeing.
Perhaps through the eyes of a child, things are bright and wonderous. I sure do wish sometimes thats how I could still view this world.

Devnul, your daughter is a precious and beautiful child, and by the sounds of things very much cared for by her very proud father. She sounds very special.

Btw, I never said my son couldn't count, he counts very well, I simply meant it would be hard to participate him in the tests and experiments that seem to have been used in the article on synesthesia relating to numbers, colours, sounds, sights, and tastes.

So no, I don't feel bad at all. And even if my child could not count at the age of 3, (or if your child could not?) I'm sure he would possess other skills that would make me as equally proud a parent.

Ps, Is it your duty to try to raise hackles and a bite?
Hmm maybe you would make an excellent fisherman instead of a scientist? Or Whatever you are....?

 

[devnull]

Yep, thats her. She's going through that cute stage. Its good, cos it raises the price we'll get for her on ebay

I never worry about kids 'falling behind'. They all eventually catch up. We have friend's who worry a bit about their 4 year old's speech development and a few other things. Im generally pretty laid back about stuff like that. I especially find that boys are developmentally delayed when compared to girls.... not that Id ever say that in front of my wife