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Why a Black and White Nursery Is Good For Your Baby’s Development
Why is a Black and White Nursery good for your baby’s development!? Did you know that babies can tell the difference between light and dark even before they are born? When born, they see shapes by following the lines where light and dark meet. Yet, they are several weeks old before they can see their first primary color – red.
In their first weeks and months, babies learn to use their eyes – actually their eyes “learn” how to see. In their critical first year of life, your baby’s brain and eyes begin to coordinate images – this is what allows them to remember what they’ve seen. The right stimulation can increase your baby’s curiosity, attention span, and memory. That’s where a black and white nursery comes into play.
Numerous studies have been done on the value of a black and white nursery for visual stimulation. Here’s why. Newborns can only focus about eight to 12 inches from their face, and they see only black, white and gray. As early as the first week, your baby begins to respond to movement and begins to focus on your face. Soon your baby will smile when he or she sees you.
Over the next few months, you will notice your baby following moving objects. At this stage, your baby starts to recognize things, especially toys and mobiles with bold, geometric patterns.
There are so many opportunities to stimulate your baby’s brain. From the simple, downloadable black and white patterns below to black and white mobiles to black and white crib bedding, there are a multitude of ways to incorporate black and white in the nursery.
If you look online, you’ll see a number of other free black and white visual stimulation tools.
We’re also fans of these small “art cards”, with similar products available on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Wee-Gallery-Cards-Baby-Collection/dp/B001CBAJBQ?th=1. This little boxed set is priced at $14.99.
Another fun way to accomplish a black and white nursery is through their crib bedding. Black and white sheets, changing pad covers, and curtains can really make a statement in the nursery.
Read more about black and white crib bedding on Liz and Roo’s Black and White Collection page. We love the high contrast of our black and white polka dot changing pad cover and all the other black and white options available for the nursery.
Recently, we read an article on the benefits of breast feeding for newborn eye development. According to a study published in the February issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, “babies who are breast-fed have significantly better vision as young children than babies fed from formula.” Because scientists have previously hypothesized that the chemical known as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) – found in higher concentrations in breast milk than in formula – enhances the vision of developing children, the researchers randomly added DHA to the formulas of some of the non-breast-fed children.
Sources:
(Natural News)
Bausch + Lomb
