For many years experts believed that for proper visual development black and white mobiles and toys for infants were necessary. Most stores that sell clothing, toys and accessories for infants and children carry items decorated with large, geometrical black and white patterns. It is a fact infants prefer to look at high-contrast edges and patterns. Large black and white patterns present the highest possible contrast (100%) to the eye and thus are the most visible and attractive to babies. High contrast patterns however, are not the only things infants can see.

It is true that objects with patterns having 100% contrast (that is, black-on-white) are the easiest for newborns and young infants to see. However, it is now known that infant's can distinguish much more subtle shades of gray than previously believed. For example, in the first month babies can distinguish two shades of gray that differ by only 5% in gray level. That is, 5% contrast. As good as that is, by 9 weeks of age, infants' contrast sensitivity becomes 10 times better, so that they can see large patterns or objects that have less than 0.5% contrast. This is nearly as good as adult contrast sensitivity which is 0.2%. This means that by about 2 months of age your baby is capable of perceiving almost all of the subtle shades that make our visual world so rich, textured, and interesting .

Parents often say their baby prefers a certain color, often bright red or blue. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to tell what colors a baby prefers, or what colors he or she can see by simply noticing what he or she looks at. This is because infant's eyes might be attracted by the brightness, the darkness, or the contrast of an object against its surroundings, and not by the color alone. Recent studies at the University of California at Berkeley have shown that infants as young as 2 weeks of age have color vision and can distinguish a red object from a green one even when these are perfectly matched in brightness. Infant's color vision is not likely to be as rich and sensitive as adult color vision since the receptors and nerves in the eye that are most sensitive to color are not yet mature. Thus, infants may not be able to distinguish very subtle color differences like distinguishing between red and reddish-orange, or between pastel colors. However, they can see colored patterns as well as black and white patterns as long as the patterns are not too small and have enough contrast.

When considering black and white mobiles all the research tells us that a normal visual environment without black and white toys is still quite rich and adequately stimulating to your baby. This also means that anything pleasing to you is appropriate to decorate your baby's room. In fact, you might consider giving your baby a rest from the black and white toys so that he or she can explore more subtle, and perhaps more important objects like your face and eyes, or his or her own hands and feet!

If you have questions about your babies visual development please contact our office and schedule your baby for an INFANT SEE complimentary vision analysis. You can contact us in Stillwater at 405-372-1715 or Pawnee at 918-762-2573.