Why is our garment collection black-and-white?
What colours do newborns see? What to consider when selecting clothes and interior decorations? These are just some of the questions in the minds of soon-to-be and current parents. No wonder – all parents want to provide the very best for their babies.
Let me start from the very beginning, that is, from the moment the child develops in the womb. It is a place that provides many facilities and allows most of the senses to be formed. The foetal waters contribute to the cognition of different tastes, and the confined space supports the development of touch. The beating of the heart, the stomach burps, and the warm voice of the parents develop hearing.
The mother’s womb is a marvelous place for development, and nature has ensured that the senses develop gradually. The vision is formed a little later and it fully matures after birth. With each passing day, eyesight gives the baby new possibilities, such as better visual acuity and seeing objects from various distances, eye gazing, and face recognition.
Visual development
Right after birth, the baby’s eyelids are swollen. The swelling protects the delicate eyeballs from the intrusion of harsh light and allows them to adapt to new conditions. In the beginning, the babies have only 10% of full visual acuity. You can imagine that they see everything as if through a milky glass. The first thing they follow is light. Then they perceive contrasts of black and white. In the following months, they learn to see acutely at distances of 20-30 cm, and then they begin noticing their hands. At first it is also more difficult for them to see objects with both eyes – they look with one eye or the other.
It is a very rapid process, and parents can notice its progression every day. In the first few weeks, infants see better peripherally, and only with time they focus their gaze centrally. Then they learn to follow the stimulus vertically and horizontally. They learn to recognise shapes and colours, enriching their skill with each passing day. Eyesight is the main driver of psychomotor development, enabling the achievement of other skills. You can support your little one at each stage of vision development.
Garments that support visual development
Why are our Shapies black-and-white? It is a deliberate approach, consulted with paediatric physiotherapists. It is safe, helps the development of eye accommodation, and on top of that, it looks great.
The black-and-white colouring of Neyegel, Heline, Brainaard, and other Shapies will help your baby develop his or her sense of sight. As you already know, contrast is incredibly important for the newborn’s vision because it is more noticeable and grabs the eye’s attention.
Adjusting the environment
At the very beginning, the parent is the whole world to the infant, yet the child sees the parent as a big blur. It is thus crucial to provide the baby with a contrasting environment in which the parent is more visible. Thanks to already better developed senses of hearing or smell, the child recognises the carer more quickly by voice or smell, rather than by sight. It is therefore worth adapting the child’s environment to stimulate this least developed sense.
Take a look at the space your child will be in from their perspective. If we imagine that we spend most of the day lying on our backs or our stomachs, then surely every stimulus that comes in makes a difference. For example, in a bright room, dark drapes can be hung to take care of the volume of light coming in. It is advisable to ensure that artificial source of light do not dazzle the baby lying on the changing table. You can choose a contrasting-coloured armchair for play times with your infant. We will soon create a separate article about ideas for decorating the baby’s room.
It is also worth being mindful of the play area setup. A blonde mum can sit against a dark wall and take the baby to her lap, then the toddler will be able to better focus on her face contrasting with the backdrop. If, on the other hand, she is a brunette, she can sit in a light-coloured high-back armchair. When playing with your baby, it is a good idea to dress in plain T-shirts that contrast with the object being shown in front of you, e.g. playing with a light-coloured ball against a dark-coloured T-shirt will allow for better object gazing.
When planning the decoration of your baby’s room, it is worth adapting the space for visual stimulation. It will make it easier for the child to focus on things at different distances. It is a good idea to furnish a beautiful and fashionable room but keep in mind the importance of contrasting accessories. With our tips, you will certainly manage this task perfectly, and your child will have a great space to develop.
How does it work?
In each garment, various techniques have been used to stimulate the sense of sight in different ways. Some garments have sleeves of opposite colours, others just a cuff of a different colour
The Tummas bodysuit is dedicated to the youngest babies – it has black sleeves. It allows the hands to be more visible and builds body awareness. In addition, the non-slip design elements on the sleeves allow the child to keep a stable position on the stomach and observe the hands in different stances.
The Neyegel romper suit is also dedicated to infants – it supports the exercise of eye accommodation but also encourages the midline work of the body, which is so important in the 3rd month of life. It is all thanks to the black sleeves enhanced with design elements, which contrast with the baby’s surroundings and the rest of the romper suit. Lying in a tummy position, the little ones stretch their inquisitive arms out in front of them. The focal point is the black sleeves with intriguing wings located around the wrists. The overall design attracts attention and encourages exploration, biting, grasping, and joining hands in the midline of the body. The infant’s gaze is focused to sharpen the image as much as possible. In addition, by focusing their gaze on the sleeve applications, the child works on actively lengthening the cervical region, i.e. elongation, which is key to the development of the correct curvature of the spine.
The Heline romper suit is intended for babies from the age of 3 months. The garment is designed to make parents aware of the body’s midline which is indicated by the black-and-white vertical split. The design intentionally features different colours for the two sleeves to give the baby visual contrast when joining hands in the midline. The parent can observe whether the toddler is crossing the centre of the body or perfecting the skill of joining the hands in the midline.
The entire collection is designed in a black-and-white colour scheme which reinforces the parents’ awareness and constructs the child’s immediate environment. At the same time, the clothing is a toy that you don not have to worry about forgetting. There is no single best choice of outfit. Each garment we have produced is aimed at supporting your baby’s visual development. We have been very deliberate in creating our collection and every little detail matters. By selecting our clothes, you become an informed parent, richer in the knowledge of your baby’s development, and, thanks to the Shapies, a great observer of your child’s success.
Such colourful stimuli are found throughout the whole Say Mommy clothing collection. We ensure a comprehensive approach to the various stages of development and encourage you to explore our online shop. CHECK IT OUT.
