The term "Indigo Children" refer to a new generation of people supposedly born with paranormal gifts, including psychic ability and clairvoyance. Believers claim that Indigo Children are the harbingers of the next wave of human evolution.
The idea of Indigo children was first posited by self-proclaimed psychic Nancy Ann Tappe. Claiming that she has the ability to see "auras", she explains that since the 1970's, she has been seeing more and more children born with indigo auras, indigo being the color of the "third eye chakra." The concept was further popularized by the spousal team of Lee Carrol and Jan Tober with the publication of their book, The Indigo Children: The New Kids Have Arrived, in 1999. The couple insist that the book was a result of talks with a mysterious entity they called Kyron, a being they describe as a "master angelic energy."
Apart from possessing psychic abilities such as telekineses and the ability to read minds, Indigo children are also described as being more in tune with the world, quick to discover their self-worth, and prone to question authority. New Age experts say that these children may often display "old soul eyes," refuse to wait in lines, rebel against ritualized systems that do not require creativity, display antisocial tendencies, and experience "multidimensional awareness."
Many followers of the Indigo children theory assert that the increase of children being labeled with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is not a coincidence. They say that most children suffering under these labels are simply misunderstood Indigo children, who are being forced into a societal mold that simply doesn't fit them. They also claim that medicating these children may only exacerbate matters as the children tend to lose many of their gifts — including their high self-esteem and their penchant for creative thought — when made to take prescription drugs.
Scientists, on the other, point out that the claims made by the proponents of the Indigo children theory are unfounded and unverifiable. They also assert that misguided beliefs in this kind of pseudoscience may prove detrimental to the children involved, as psychological and behavioral problems are left largely undiagnosed.