Refined decor, neutral colors, Scandinavian toys… We see more and more this combo of the ideal bedroom landing on Instagram. But is this atmosphere appreciated by parents beneficial to babies?
Whether you’re a parent or not, you’ve probably seen these pictures of baby rooms worthy of an Ikea catalog on Instagram: Scandinavian decoration, desaturated tones, a play of shades of nuance. A subtle decor conducive to soothing parents about to welcome their newborn, or just a decor that matches well with the rest of their home!
But, as with many subjects, it is rare that what appeals to parents is also suitable for children, and the decoration seems to be no exception. In fact, young children do not have the same needs as adults, and the environment in which babies evolve can impact their development. Logically, the more this environment is in line with their specific needs, the better the development of babies. If the experts do not have a firm opinion on the subject, their speech still says a lot about the importance of prioritizing what seems to contribute to the well-being of the child.
The “aesthetic moms” movement
When it comes to interior design, the cliché is true: the golden palm of monomania goes to mothers. A picture confirmed by a phenomenon on social networks, that of “aesthetic moms”, these mothers addicted to a very instagrammable decorative style. Designated as such by the creators of memes, some got caught up in the game and ended up claiming this nickname.
These mothers who have made decorative aesthetics a way of life regularly post, on Instagram, photos of their idyllic nurseries, accompanied by the hashtag #nursery. Neutral tones full of softness reign supreme there, beige and taupe giving it a counterpart to off-white and gray. Exit the garish colors of the old-fashioned rooms, hello cocoon of softness where harmonious colors intermingle with fluffy materials.
But a concern grips the researchers: how will babies develop only bottle-fed in nude shades? What impact could the fact that their first environment be a world devoid of colors have?
The impact of colors on the development of babies
Indeed, the young child needs to be particularly stimulated to acquire and develop his cognitive faculties. The environment in which he evolves will allow him to understand the 3rd dimension, textures, shapes and also colors!
Alice skelton, a scientist who studies color perception in infants, explains that while babies have the same three visual receptors as adults, they do not work the same way as at home:
Their color vision is generally worse than that of an adult, so they need a much bigger difference between two colors to be able to see it. It is as if the world saturation dial has been lowered.
Thereby, babies will be better able to identify bright colors, which stand out from each other, while pastel shades will look almost the same to them. Babies will be just as unable to see the small details in an almost monochrome environment. The University of Sussex’s Baby Lab researcher also demonstrated that babies spend more time looking at intense colors only nude shades. This is also why toys traditionally display flashy and contrasting colors.
The specialist draws conclusions from her research: for her, our visual stories have an impact on the construction of our perception. If she does not make disturbing prognoses for the little ones evolving in monochrome rooms, Alice Skelton at least finds pity not to optimize the space dedicated to the child, to provide it with the best possible development:
I think people underestimate babies and their vision. Babies want to watch stuff, and they are driven to seek new information, so it’s a bit of a shame not to offer them that.
Beyond the construction of perceptual worlds, colors produce, for every human being, “various, physically noticeable effects including blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, digestion, body temperature, and brain activity”As Dr Lennie Scott-Webber explains. This contribution therefore seems essential for the development of the infant.
The merit of “joint attention”
If access to an amplitude of contrasting colors opens the doors to a larger perceptual world, let’s not forget that the baby’s environment is not limited to his room : the street, the shops, the park or even the nursery are all spaces in which the child will diversify his understanding of the world. No risk, therefore, that your child finds himself seeing only in black and white.
Let’s go even further: “aesthetic moms” and their Instagrammable rooms also have their advocates. Tricia skoler, professor of psychology at the City University of New York, moresois this chromatic tendency, and this, from a certain perspective: for the one who studies the development of the brain of infants, the most important thing to preserve is “joint attention”, namely the fact that the child and the adult can focus their attention on the same object, a state of symbiosis that would allow the child a better apprehension. Thus, she advises against, within a home, a very distinct separation between the environment of the child, and that of adults, to avoid a split in the educational model.
Difficult to decide in a definite way, therefore, on this question of instagrammable rooms. A child development psychologist, Amanda gummer, gives us perhaps the most sensible answer: for her, it is not on your choice of decoration that the destiny of your baby will depend, but of the intention that you put in each gesture made with him. Toddlers are real sponges, so they’ll be receptive to how you feel as a parent. In this sense, for the researcher, “being a happy and healthy parent, doing things that make you feel good in your family life is precious and valuable”.
If baby rooms in nude tones may not be not the most stimulating spaces to develop their cognitive faculties, do not worry: as long as the child is not locked up there 24 hours a day, it can compensate in other environments. And who knows, maybe his mother’s passion for comfy atmospheres will later make him a professional zenitude, a make up artist who will devote himself to the creation of more inclusive products for all skin tones, or even a little genius of interior design!