Mother Discovers Horrifying Images in Toddler's Coloring Book

London: A mother of a two-year-old bought a coloring book for her son from a second-hand store, and was horrified by its contents. The mother, Amy, stated it was one of the most frightening and disturbing things she's ever seen in her life, certainly not suitable for children and toddlers.

"I don't always check everything I buy for the kids, but this time I decided to flip through all the pages and I was horrified. Most pages had strange creatures fitted onto human bodies, some with frightening shark-like teeth. On some of those pages were things less scary but still weird, like a flying bell, a person dressed like a tire spying on his neighbor through a hedge, and a girl riding a horse with four human legs. Even if it's just a coloring book, we as parents are supposed to supervise what they see at the start of their lives. A coloring book is like a preschool teacher - it mediates reality. So why present a child with a distorted and frightening reality?" she exclaims. "This coloring book looked like it came straight out of a horror movie. I tore up most of the pages until almost no book was left, and the child was a little disappointed."

Why is it problematic to show two-year-olds frightening creatures?

Many psychologists warn that early exposure to frightening figures – monsters, ghosts, threatening creatures – can adversely affect their emotional development. At the age of two, the brain and mind are still in the process of forming a basic sense of security in the world, and when shown frightening images, this may trigger uncontrolled anxiety, nightmares, sleep problems, and even harm their initial trust in the environment.

Three prominent psychologists have spoken about this in the past:

1. Dr. Alison Gopnik(Alison Gopnik),professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, explains that toddlers perceive frightening images as real events, not fictional stories. "Young children do not differentiate well between imagination and reality, so frightening or strange figures may be perceived by them as a real threat, not just a game."

2. Dr. David Elkind (David Elkind), a child development expert and educational psychologist, warns of the effects of frightening things that toddlers are exposed to. These can turn into real fears that are etched into the child's consciousness (who will one day become an adult): "Young children experience the world with very intense feelings, and exposure to frightening content creates deep anxieties that can follow them for years to come."

3. Dr. Sharon Heller (Sharon Heller), a clinical psychologist and author on early emotional development, explains that at this age - experiences either build or undermine the child's basic trust in the world and immediate environment. "The basic sense of security built in the first two years of life can be disrupted merely by exposure to perceived threats, which are, as mentioned - entirely real in the eyes of the toddler."

Some of the images that appeared in the book: