The other day, one of us chanced upon a post about a black & white cafe. In a world full of colours, a simple, monochromatic experience can truly bring a breath of fresh air. But did you know that we humans do not perceive colours for a brief period of time after birth? When we were infants, we only saw black & white and shades of grey at very short distances.
Disclaimer: The illustration is a creative expression; it does not depict the real sense of the way infants perceive the world around them.
This is because, during infancy, the human brain can only perceive light and dark ranges. So, when it comes to training an infant’s vision, toys like the Intellibaby Mirror and Monochrome Card Set can be extremely useful. It can help stimulate the occipital lobe, which receives and interprets visual information. In other words, it can help train your child’s vision.
Does this make you wonder if the black & white cafe would be a treat to an infant’s eyes? We’d love to know your thoughts!
As babies grow, their vision sharpens, and they can see primary colours, like red, blue, and green. If you’ve seen your little one reach out for toys in bright primary colours, they are developing colour perception, another important cognitive development milestone. It denotes that your munchkin’s brain can now perceive different wavelengths of light.
Around this time of your baby’s life, you can also use other toys to stimulate your baby’s vision and cognitive development, like the Mushroom Peg Board, Wooden Xylophone, and Shiny Dancers mobile.
So, why is this stimulation needed for babies?
A healthy vision aids the overall development of babies. Appropriate stimulation in the early months leads to proper eyesight that contributes to developing motor skills, focus, and balance, and it also strengthens the bond babies share with their parents, guardians or caregivers.
Eventually, babies are able to see objects or people at longer distances (several feet away) and also differentiate between colours. If your child has reached this stage, you can encourage them to spot and reach out for more colours in their surroundings. This phase usually occurs after the age of 6 months and is the best time to level up your baby’s visual stimulation.
Now that you know how your baby’s vision develops, getting the right kind of toys and using them creatively is one of the best things you can do for them at this point in time!
