Sunday, September 16, 2012

It's Simply Black and White

No one in our family will ever break world records with our height, we are inherently short.  Currently, our shortest member is our 5 month old son, Devin.  Devin quickly took a liking to objects and pictures with high contrasting colors after he was born, even if they were much higher up than him.  He has stared at the black frames against our white walls for long periods of time, even smiling and babbling at them as he got older.  Like all babies, his vision has not developed to its full potential yet, and won't until he's around 6-8 months old, which is why babies are so attracted to the boldness of black and white images, they are easier to see.

Devin's current height, and his lack of ability to sit or stand up yet, make lying on the floor in our house difficult to see his favorite objects high up on the wall.  Have you ever heard someone say, get down on the floor with your baby to see their view of the world?  It's a very different perspective!


Despite the toys I offer Devin to grab and inspect, life at that level can be frustrating, especially when he drops his toy and cannot reach it.  My furniture and some contact paper gave me an idea.  We have a lot of black colored furniture; our kitchen island, Devin's crib, and his dresser are just a few of them.  We are in the kitchen often, as many families are, prepping and eating meals.  Devin sits in his chair or lies on a blanket right next to a large blank surface of the island when we are in the kitchen.  Contact paper is very gentle on wooden surfaces, so I cut out some simple shapes and stuck them to the side of the island, a much closer view for Devin to enjoy.  


I did not cut these out by hand, the first set of objects I made were, but I've changed the scenery recently and used my die cutting machine.  I've got scissor skills, but I'm not that talented!


My desk is in Devin's room.  I try to do my work there when I can, so the next best place to add some visual stimulation for him was in that room.  If you don't have access to a die cutting machine, or you aren't handy with scissors, you can download free black and white clip art or cut out pictures in magazines.  Use clear contact paper to adhere them to a lower surface for your baby.  


As babies grow they prefer and can identify images of real things better than drawn ones.  You can change the scenery for them by using photos or clips from magazines.  Using clear contact paper to cover them is still great for older babies and toddlers because they can enjoy them without tearing them down as easily.

Do you have a spot in your home where the babies in your life can enjoy the simplicity of black and white?

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8 comments:

  1. This is so true Heather! When I used to do the babysitters club while working at TLC, we would make activities for the children to take with them on their jobs to cover all ages of children up to age seven years.

    The activity for young infants was to take a paper plate, tongue depressor, masking tape,and a black marker to create a face on the plate, The children would draw big black eyes, nose, and mouth on one side of the plate and then tape a tongue depressor to the back, bottom of the plate to be used as a handle.

    When using the face plate with the young infants, you hold the plate no more than 12 inches from the baby's face. Once the baby has made eye contact with the plate, slowly move the plate up, down, side to side, and diagonally. If the baby loses gaze, stop and try again. If the baby loses gaze again, stop the activity and do at another time. I always felt it helped strengthen the baby's eye muscles.

    I did adapt the idea as time went on and had the children draw the face on white poster board and then on the other side they drew a colorful pictures using bright colors for the babies who were 6 months and up.

    Thanks for your wonderful blog! I really do enjoy reading it! :)

    Take care . . .
    Mary

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    1. Love the paper plate activity Mary. I had no idea you did that kind of a class at TLC, I wish someone would have taught me about black and white images when I was babysitting as a teen.

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  2. I really love this idea. Babies are naturally drawn to black and white images and I love the idea of putting these things at their eye level. I have written a little on my blog about some books featuring black and white objects - but I like this even better than reading the books with high contrast pictures It's like a new adventure around every corner. Going to share on my Facebook page!

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    1. Thanks Marissa! I like it because it's just there for him unless he happens to wiggle away from it, he can't lose it by dropping it, though we do love our books :)

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  3. Great idea! Wish I had thought of it when my little guy was younger! I guess if we have a number 4 I will have my cricut ready!

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    1. The cricut is my best friend when I need to make something ;)

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  4. I love this idea! Babies really respond to black and white and what a creative (and thoughtful) way to see things from your baby's perspective. I'm featuring this on my blog tomorrow as one of my faves from this week's Weekly Kids' Co-op. Thanks for linking up.

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    1. Thanks Ness! I think it comes from working in child care previously and hanging picture at the children's level.

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-Heather