Indigo children is a term used within the New Age movement to refer to children who are believed to possess certain special psychological and spiritual attributes. The Indigo Child concept was first publicized by the book The Indigo Children: The New Kids Have Arrived, written by the husband-and-wife team of Lee Carroll and Jan Tober ^[1]. Carroll insists that the concept was obtained via conversations with a spiritual entity known as Kryon.

The reason for the use of the adjective "indigo" is not universally agreed upon. Some sources link it with an early researcher into the phenomenon, who was synesthetic. It has also been claimed that these children appear with an indigo-hued aura.

Environment and evolution

The Indigo Child movement states that the children in question are born with an empathic connection to Earth and others' thoughts. However, due to natural limits in infant communication, Indigo Children's supposed abilities (empathy, telepathy, extra-sensory perception and extra-normal perception) are often suppressed by negative parental or societal influence. The Indigo Child movement therefore encourages parents to support those children in whom can be seen traits which are often labeled as negative by mainstream authorities but as positive by Indigo Child theorists. Many Indigo Child theory supporters believe that these traits can also be brought out in non-Indigos, but that Indigo Children are predisposed to them thanks to an evolutionary advantage

Characteristics

Carroll and Tober identify ten attributes that describe the Indigo Children. From www.indigochild.com :

• They come into the world with a feeling of royalty (and often act like it).
• They have a feeling of "deserving to be here," and are surprised when others do not share that.
• Self-worth is not a big issue; they often tell the parents "who they are."
• They have difficulty with absolute authority (authority without explanation or choice).
• They simply will not do certain things; for example, waiting in line is difficult for them.
• They get frustrated with systems that are ritually oriented and do not require creative thought.
• They often see better ways of doing things, both at home and in school, which makes them seem like "system busters" (non-conforming to any system).
• They seem antisocial unless they are with their own kind. If there are no others of like consciousness around them, they often turn inward, feeling like no other human understands them. School is often extremely difficult for them socially.
• They will not respond to "guilt" discipline ("Wait till your father gets home and finds out what you did").
• They are not shy in letting it be known what they need.

In her article "Indigo Children: What's an Indigo Child??" Wendy H. Chapman (enlightenment teacher at and Director of Metagifted Education Resource Organization) says that Indigo Children will also display many of the following:

• Have strong self esteem, connection to source
• Have an obvious sense of self
• Refuse to follow orders or directions
• Get bored rather easily with assigned tasks
• Are rather creative
• Display strong intuition
• Have strong empathy for others or NO empathy
• Develop abstract thinking very young
• Are gifted and/or talented, highly intelligent
• Are often identified or suspected of having ADHD
• Are frequent daydreamers
• Have very old, deep, wise looking eyes

Some critics believe that these traits are not unique and are observable in most children, but adherents believe that this new type of child has come forward for a reason; most often suggested is that they will improve the world in some way. The changes generally discussed involve bringing peace, toppling corrupt institutions, and a shift from allopathic medicine to a greater understanding of more natural alternatives. Indigo Children are said to be more in touch with something called the Universal Truth, and do not tolerate or understand behaviors or systems that are not in harmony with it.

Indigo Children are sometimes said to possess an extreme longevity, but given the birth dates above the source of this belief is unknown.

Indigo abilities

Many discussions of Indigo Children in New Age literature (including Kryon literature) claim that Indigo Children are born with part of their DNA activated that most people do not have activated. Some claim that it is junk DNA that they utilize to "swap out" higher-dimensional information, giving them special abilities.

These abilities are said to include purging HIV, advanced genius and psychic/telekinetic powers ^{[2] [3]} speaking to the dead.^[4]

April Children

As the Indigo movement began in the early '80s, a related phenomenon called April Children was being reported in Greece. Greek journalist Kostas Hardavelas announced that the University of Athens showed some unusual interest in children specifically born during April 1983. The university is said to have sought them in schools and performed interviews and surveys without further information or notification to the public. Hardavelas produced a documentary about the interviewees, promoting the view that these children had high IQ, mental abilities, peculiar dreams and spiritual experiences. In the absence of specific data about the key players and their aims within the University, the documentary posits the theory that connects the apparent anomaly to some cosmic event (planetary alignment or excessive solar activity).

Speculation about the children born during April 1983 is based on information from a book and articles written by Greek science-fiction and conspiracy theory author Ioannis Fourakis. Fourakis believes that the April Children have a mark on their skin, and that they will play some important role in the future in accordance with his theories of Ellinokentrismos.

Non-mystic interpretations

Some critics feel that it is possible to use the traits assigned to Indigo Children as an observation of social trends, rather than as a signifier of a new race or form of consciousness. One such trend is more and more children are viewing magical/mystical TV shows and media that use new-age interpretable language. Coupled with how children feed off the media in their own natural fantasy play, such mystical make-believe could be unintentionally falsely re-interpreted as signs of preternatural knowledge, maturity or "higher consciousness".

An example of this emerged in a 2006 article in the Dallas Observer which covered the Indigo Child phenomenon.^[5] The reporter observed an eight year old boy named Dusk quizzed by a man on his "Indigo" status:

"Are you an indigo?" he asked Dusk. The boy looked at him shyly and nodded. "I'm an avatar," Dusk said. "I can recognize the four elements of earth, wind, water and fire. The next avatar won't come for 100 years." The man seemed impressed.

However, readers of the Dallas Observer wrote to inform the editor that Dusk may have been drawing on the Nickelodeon children's show Avatar: The Last Airbender. This highly-rated television show features a twelve-year-old boy who is the reincarnation of the Avatar Spirit, has the power to manipulate (or "bend") earth, wind, water and fire, and was once frozen in suspended animation for 100 years. These similarities were not noted within the article, and the editor of the Dallas Observer later admitted they were not aware of the connection until several readers brought it to their attention.^[6]

Criticism and scientific investigation

Skeptics point out that proponents of the Indigo movement lack verifiable evidence to support their claims. Indigo literature frequently talks about "university studies" and "interested scientists," however scientists such as Russell Barkley, a research professor of psychiatry, have stated, "There's no science behind it. There are no studies."^[7] Barkley has also expressed concern that labeling a disruptive child an "Indigo" may delay proper diagnosis and treatment that may help them.

Indigo Children are often the offspring of New Age parents. Exposed to New Age thinking, it might be taken as unsurprising that the children possess a greater tendency to use spiritual language than earlier generations. Having been told that the vast majority of children are now Indigos, New Age parents in fear of suppressing this special generation may be encouraging antisocial behaviors. It is said that many of the traits identifying Indigo Children could simply be interpreted as simple arrogance and selfish individualism.

Just as many people tend towards astrology because it presents believers with simple, complimentary accounts of themselves, critics of the Indigo Child concept claim that parents relate to the hypothesis because it provides a more flattering conclusion about their child than current mainstream psychological descriptions that are popular among most parents, such as ADHD or Asperger's Syndrome. Indigo Child is not a recognized term in the field of psychology, although some of the authors of Indigo literature have degrees in psychology; one reason for this might be that the concept of Indigo children is relatively new.

Critics have also voiced concern that teaching children that they are Indigo will encourage children to adopt sociopathic behaviors, such as a sense of human superiority, alienation, and a "bizarre" paranormal identity

Education

Educators, generally, have not embraced the Indigo Child supposition; many educators are not even aware of the Indigo child movement.^{[citation needed]} Some alternative educators have accepted the Indigo concept, and have related their mission to the needs of Indigo Children^{[1] [8]}. Philosophies that resonate with Indigos' style of learning may include experiential education, multiple intelligence strategies, project-based learning, unschooling, and student-centered learning.

Commercialization

There has been significant commercial value in book and video sales, donations, speaking engagements, and one-on-one counseling session fees to parents of "Indigo" children. In "Indigo: the color of money", an article on Skepticreport.com, Lorie Anderson has pointed out the potential commercial value of the "Indigo" concept for James Twyman, author of the video documentary, The Indigo Evolution. Numerous other commercial websites offer indigo-child-themed goods for sale such as books and new-age healing devices as well as videos and other media.

In 2003, a movie Indigo was released. The movie has grossed $1,190,000.^[9]

In the arcade-adventure computer game Fahrenheit (also known as Indigo Prophecy), an Indigo Child, Jade, is thought to be a prophet destined to bring some powerful truths into the world. It is also hinted that Jesus Christ might have also been one.

In the episode "The Unusual Suspect" of the television series CSI, a twelve year old girl named Hannah is said to be an Indigo Child. She claims responsibility for a murder to which her brother stands accused.

References

• Redman, Deb (2001). "Investing in Adult Understanding of Special Children." Chicago: Project Legacy.
• Lancaster, Dianne (2002). Anger and the Indigo Child. Boulder: Wellness Press.

1. ^ ^a b Carroll, Lee & Tober, Jan (1999). The Indigo Children: The New Kids Have Arrived. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House.
2. ^ Indigo Children - Crystalline Children  http://www.greatdreams.com/indigo.htm
3. ^ The Indigo Crystal "Human Angel" http://www.starchild.co.za/angel.html
4. ^ http://www.indigochild.com/News-CNN.html 
5. ^ "Little Boy Blue" by Jesse Hyde, Dallas Observer, March 9, 2006 http://www.dallasobserver.com/Issues/2006-03-09/news/feature.html
6. ^ Letters to the Dallas Observer, March 16, 2006 http://www.dallasobserver.com/Issues/2006-03-16/news/letters_full.html
7. ^ "Are They Here to Save the World?" by John Leland, The New York Times, January 12, 2006 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/12/fashion/thursdaystyles/12INDIGO.html?ei=5088&en=277fb750ad762ed9&ex=1294722000&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1159381026-oyiuk8HGONeGkgRidzHdow
8. ^ Simpson, K. (2004). "The Beach School: Giving Children the Freedom to Learn." Children of the New Earth, 2:1, pp. 92�?5.
9. ^ http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2005/0INDI.php