Have you heard the research that the best art for babies is bold black and white images? The contrasting pictures are believed to help a baby focus their vision and develop their still fuzzy eyesight. There are lots of black and white art for babies available in books and as posters but why not make your own? Creating some baby art is a lovely way for siblings (or in our case cousins) to give a gift to a new baby in the family.
How to make art for babies
Take some white card as your canvass and a black felt tip pen or wax crayon that will give you a good, solid black colour. Then try some designs.
The first things my girls thought of were our black and white cat and a cow. Babies love to look at faces most of all though so they drew some simple smiling faces too.
A newborn baby has a small field of vision, best able to see about the distance up to their parent’s face as they are held in their arms, so making some small pictures on thick card means you can stand them up at the side of a baby’s cot – within their field of vision but just out of reach. Babies will often turn their head to the side as they lie on their back, so placing the pictures to the side, rather than overhead, is just right. Then watch and see if the images draw their attention, and perhaps even calm and soothe them.
More baby play ideas
If you have a new baby in the family you might like to take a look at our SUPERbaby series of play ideas especially for under-ones.
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Cute idea! Thanks for sharing.
Cute!! What a fun way for siblings to create something fun for baby!
Cool. I love the tips for using black and white and also to include smiling faces. We have a new nephew that probably would love his cousin’s artwork!!
This is such a great way to help siblings feel connected to the new baby. I love those drawings too. They would look great framed in the baby’s room. Some of the best ideas are the simplest. Thanks for sharing! I have a post about newborns this week. Hope to see you at True Aim.
We like the simple ideas Tulip
I think it’s so important to encourage that connection between siblings and a new baby. My youngest (now 5) still has some framed pictures in her room which her big sister made for her when she was born.
This is so lovely to see your girls making something for their new cousin. Montessori mobiles are based on the same principle as well – black and white to help focus. What a great idea to combine the black and white with babies’ love of faces.
[...] a bit when older children feel that they have a personal stake in the baby. Cathy over at NurtureStore has a great idea along these lines for helping older children create art for babies. [...]
[...] a bit when older children feel that they have a personal stake in the baby. Cathy over at NurtureStore has a great idea along these lines for helping older children create art for babies. [...]
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