Have you ever noticed how babies seem drawn to black and white images? Before a baby is even born it can decipher between light and dark. Once born, a babies vision is limited and blurry. Their eyesight continues to develop over the first year, and by the age of one they can usually see just like you and I. A babies ability to see colour is highly debated, but we do know that they begin by seeing black, white and shades of grey- which is why we’re opting for high contrast eye-catching images as a visual aid for Odette.
Over the past few weeks we have seen Odette develop and change on a daily basis. One major development is with her vision. We obviously cannot say what she is actually seeing, but we can use simple clues to make educated guesses about her sight. As each day passes she stays awake for longer periods of time. Whilst she is awake, she is drawn to lights and will focus on our faces when held in close proximity. As she focuses on things you can often see her eyes cross- this is highly amusing and of course completely normal, due to the fact that their eyes don’t yet function together.
High contrast images are preferable to babies because they provide them with something simple and engaging to focus on in what can often be a very overwhelming environment. We were recently sent some high contrast black and white cards from ‘Bebedou‘. The first thing to note about these cards are that they are beautiful. The matte designs and images are well placed on the double sided cards and they feel sturdy and strong, meaning that they would hold up well against a teething baby!
As Odette has shown readiness to focus and concentrate on items, we have shown her these high contrast cards. They have held her attention for long periods of time and she always appears to be very calm when viewing them. At the moment she seems to show preference to the repeated images on black backgrounds, and you can see her eyes moving around the images as she takes them in.
We have been very pleased with these cards so far, and will continue to use them on a daily basis as an outlet for Odette from the overwhelming chaos that is our home environment. They will also help with her brain development and her ability to hold her focus and attention for longer periods of time.
You can get your ‘Bebedou Art Cards’ here
Two Cherries 