What Is An Indigo Child? Exactly What You Want Them To Be

If you're anything like I am, it seems virtually impossible to keep up with all of the current parenting terms and social trends. How people choose to label or describe behavior and personality types is constantly in flux. With all the different concepts floating around, you might find yourself wondering, what is an indigo child? Much to my surprise, it has nothing to do with the '90s rock duo, The Indigo Girls. This term is the latest in a growing list of monikers for children with a specific set of character traits.

As child therapist Maureen Healy tells Psychology Today, indigo children are "a new generation of highly sensitive, stubborn, and high energy children." But this goes beyond a simple personality type and treads into the realm of spirituality. If you're skeptic, you're not alone. As psychiatric research professor Dr. Russell Barkley told The New York Times, in reference to the indigo child trend, "there's no science behind it. There are no studies." Even if the scientific and academic community at large doesn't lend much credibility to the term, there are still plenty of parents who are adamant they have indigo children. A quick search of, "indigo children," on social network sites will yield pages with tens of thousands of followers.

Nancy Ann Tappe, the pioneering mind behind the label, noted on her official site for indigo children that their aura is a dark blue. In Tappe's opinion, she believes this color represents hyperactive, willful, independent behavioral dispositions. Basically, it's their way or the highway. An indigo child will do things at their own pace and in their own way. In the previously mentioned article, former psychotherapist Doreen Virtue told The New York Times that indigo children are, "vigilant about cleaning the earth of social ills and corruption and increasing integrity." For those who believe in the significance of an indigo aura, these children have the potential to change the world.

Whether or not this resonates as true with you, it seems everyone can agree that children thrive when their unique strengths and challenges are met with patience and support.

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