New parents, grandparents, or a close relativefriends, whose circle of acquaintances has a baby, the first thought is typically what kind of toy should be bought or made for the new little one. As a new parent I didn't really understand the black and white patterned games, to be honest, I thought they were a bit gloomy and mournful to give to babies. When decorating the children's room, new parents do not necessarily think in terms of the black and white color combination, but in general, cheerful, colorful or perhaps pastel furniture, wall paint, pictures and objects. Of course, these colors are the ones that fill adults with pleasant feelings, however it is worth choosing a few strongly contrasting pieces, even black and white, for the baby's room. You can read about why this is important in the rest of my article!
Photo: Own (Rebeka Novák-Szabó ev)
Development of babies' vision
It was a very surprising fact for me when I found out babies' vision really develops in the first year after birth, and only around one year of age or later do they see as sharply as adults. At the hospital, the lactation consultant first clarified that it was my baby boy you can only see at a distance of 30-40 cm, further away only vaguely, rather just the they perceive lights. The newbornseveryone knows that in the first period their life is determined by the cycle of eating and sleeping, but I knew nothing about their vision. As it turns out, when I read afterwards that they see their surroundings in black and white, dimly and vice versa. This was a shock to me and makes me think, why are there so many colorful and fragrant decorations if they don't even see anything? So I continued to read on the subject, as I found the whole topic of vision development very interesting. As it turned out for me that the the development of vision is closely related to the development of movement, because the sharper they see, the better they can focus and recognize things, the more motivated they are to change the situation. so if we want to support the baby's movement development, it is definitely worth helping with the development of vision and perception first. By the age of 6 months, babies can see up to 2 meters away, but they still see clearly at a distance of 30-40 cm. As the eye muscles develop over the months, they are better able to focus, and the image processing mediated by the eyes in the brain is also getting better. During the first six months, the black-white contrast becomes more and more nuanced, and babies begin to see more and more colors as their vision develops. The very first color that babies actually perceive is red.
To be honest, before the beginning of my motherhood, I would not have thought that vision itself is such a complex thing, even if I perceive its importance every day. I had absolutely no idea that babies' vision develops in such a long time, and what effect it has on their motor development. I would not go into further detail about vision development, as it is not really my area of expertise. Those who are interested in the details, I recommend the Teddy bear shop: The vision and early development of babies, which explains this topic in detail in a way that can be understood even by laymen.
Beneficial effect of contrasting games
As I wrote before vision and the development of movement are closely related. To put it in layman's terms: the better the baby sees and orients itself in space, the more its movement develops. Although the many beautiful colorful toys that we bought during the first months are not absolutely suitable for the development of vision, there is no reason to worry, later you will surely be excited to discover the baby room equipment and objects chosen by the baby's parents! However, in order to we should support the development of eye muscles, the joint movement of the two eyes, and focusing; for the first period, it is worth buying or making a couple of toys with a strong contrast. It is not necessary to think only in black and white, the point is that a dark and light contrast should be strong. That's why it might be a good idea to have a circle of bees above the bed or a pillow with a panda bear on the nursing chair, which we can later give to the baby to look at. I think that the favorite sleeping toy does not necessarily have to be made in black and white, as you can find out from my previous article it will not determine the baby's attachment to the temporary object. If you are still interested in what you can do to make the toy you make the baby's favorite Psychology of loveys: why is it good for kids to have a favorite snuggler? c. you can find out from the article. I have put together a few ideas on how to easily introduce visual stimuli into the baby's room so that it does not come at the expense of the parent's preferred style and color scheme. By the way, I think almost every game gives us the opportunity to sneak in a little contrast, which can only be limited by our own imagination.
My personal experiences
During my first pregnancy, I had no idea about the significance of black and white toys, and many times I didn't even understand why there were toys in that color on the shelves. I learned about the development of vision and its importance during the period when I was a child I didn't have to wait long for life to confirm the scientific facts. THE one of my son's favorite games lives with his grandmother it was a panda, which he used to stare at even during his big belly period. For this reason, the little angels brought him a rather contrasting penguin from his uncle for Christmas. THE with my little girl this no longer showed much novelty, but I was still moved to watch him discover the world and see more and more. First I noticed it when he was 1-2 months old, that with great interest watching the Snooze Bar, however, I did not understand what could cause him such admiration. After all, this game as a whole is quite clear, not really contrasting. When I realized that the her eyes are the ones embroidered in black and this was what piqued my daughter's interest.
So you can see from this that it is worth surrounding them with strongly contrasting toys, but you don't have to give up your own taste world, or the selected toy that you planned to crochet for your baby, or as a baby shower gift. Babies often see the possibility of developing their eyes in things that we adults wouldn't even think about: a striped pillow and a more contrasting scarf, or a super striped one crochet tulip bag.
Sources:
* Teddy bear shop: Vision and early development of babies
