Adult Coloring – the new trend

Coloring. For grownups? Really? Isn’t that child’s play?

How often we’ve heard these words at the library. Grownups today read YA books, ride bikes, eat childhood comfort foods like grilled cheese sandwiches and yes, they like to color.

According to an article in Time Magazine ( Mar. 2016), coloring books for adults are the new trend. “Nielson’s December 2015 survey found that 71% of adult colorers are female. While there’s a considerable millennial contingent-36% are ages 18-29-boomers enjoy coloring, too, with 19% being over 55.”

In chatting with library users who enjoy adult coloring, they claim coloring is calming and stress relieving and we all know stress release promotes mental health. As Sarah Begley, author of the Time article states, “Staying inside the lines, especially in more complex illustrations, takes a lot of concentration, which blocks out distractions. In this sense, coloring could be a species of mindfulness like meditation, which has