3 reasons why black and white decorations are the best for newborns

Did you know that newborns can only see in black and white until about three months of age?

In this article, we explain why providing high-contrast monochromatic decorations and toys is beneficial for children.

Have you wondered why so many children's toys and books feature high contrast black and white illustrations? Contrary to what happens for the other senses, at birth the newborn's visual capacity is very limited and will reach full maturation only around 8 months of life.

According to some studies conducted in the 1960s, in the first months of life, the newborn's vision is poorly developed and he can only distinguish things that are placed 20-25 cm from his face, the same distance from the mother's breast and from the parents face while in arms. However, the rest of the images are blurred and we are witnessing the "strabismus of the newborn", which leads him to converge his eyes to the center when he tries to observe a very close object: this happens because he is not yet able to focus the images However, he is able to distinguish light from dark and consequently images with strong chromatic contrast, for this reason black and white images and objects are perfect for stimulating his vision. The simpler the images, the easier it will be for the child to recognize them. Choosing high-contrast black and white toys and decorations can be extremely beneficial for your child's development because it will help him concentrate more easily thus helping to train and strengthen his eyesight.

3 benefits of black and white toys

Stimulating your baby's vision and helping him determine shapes and colors is important for strengthening his cognitive skills and fine motor skills. Since high-contrast images are easier for children to interpret, they are the best way to train their attention span, improve their memory and develop their nervous system.

Another pro of using black and white decorations and toys for your child's room is that you can add color later as your child develops as he grows up. Black and white is also gender-neutral, timeless, and educational.

Some of baby's milestones include reaching, grasping, shaking, passing and of course – tasting! All our pillows are hypoallergenic, resistant and designed in such a way that they are easy to focus on, thus helping to refine hand-eye coordination as well.

The high-contrast images help the newborn focus on the visual stimuli received and promote the exploration of objects, activating the brain engaged in the creation of millions of synapses every minute, allowing him to form an idea of the world, still unknown to him.

Color is descriptive. Black and white is interpretive.
(Elliott Erwitt)

Famous is the carousel created by the brilliant designer Bruno Munari, much appreciated and also used in the Montessori method, which is proposed as the first piece of furniture for newborns: it is composed of a transparent sphere that reflects light, usually in glass and a series of shapes geometric , all, to be precise, in black and white. Even babies as young as a few weeks demonstrate that they can concentrate for several minutes by observing her.

If you like, do some tests and Download and print these --> images for free. Glue them to thick cardstock and show them to your little one when they're awake, 20-30cm away and see how they react!

Perhaps not only newborns, but all of us need more simplicity and less visual "clatter".

Stephanie Conci