The Indigo Child

Ok, there is an article in our paper today from the syndicated press titled " 'Indigo' Children Gain Following. " An Indigo Child is a child who is more "enlightened and spiritually attuned." Apparently these special children were first noticed in the late 70s by a San Diego psychologist named Nancy Ann Tappe. She could see auras and "noticed that a new color attached to a growing body of children, indigo, had 'entered the Earth plane."

Now the idea that their child might be an "indigo" has started to appeal to many parents, and why shouldn't it? Many kids (and unfortunately the rest of us) today are subject to the Baby Jesus syndrome by their parents, where everything they do is special and magical. I am not trying to sound like a jerk, because I think the qualities of sensitivity and creativity, supposed traits of an Indigo, are a blessing and should be encouraged in everyone. However, some of the other qualities listed, such as:

• They feel like royalty and deserve to be here
• They are full of self-worth
• They have difficulty with absolute authority
• They will not respond to "guilt" discipline

to me seem like a cop-out for parents who have an unmitigated spoiled brat on their hands.

There is more and more buzz about this type of personality, with web sites, books, and seminars - it will be interesting to see if this is the second wave of Boomeresque child-rearing principles. I do not yet have a child, but, indigo or not, I think we will be following the advice of mom.

I can't find the article online, but here is a link to a website about Indigo Children: http://www.indigochild.com/