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Visual Stimulation is engaging a child visually in order to help in his brain development. At birth, a baby’s retina is not fully developed. As a result, he can only focus on objects that are 8 - 12 inches away and his vision is fuzzy. Also, he can see only the shades of black and white.
So while we love the pastel shades of the baby nursery, for the baby, all these light colours are blurred into one. This provides no point of interest for the baby’s eyes who are trying to see. On the other hand, with strong visual stimulation for baby’s eyes, the retina develops and the optic nerve grows. As a result, his brain develops by leaps and bounds.
Why is visual stimulation crucial for baby’s brain development?
At birth, your baby’s brain is still developing. While the baby grows, the brain receives information from all five senses. Based on these bits of information, the brain gets wired. More the bits of information, more neutron connections i.e. the wiring takes place. This leads to rapid brain development.
When should you start visual stimulation?
As soon as your baby is born you should look at providing visual stimulation. His every waking minute is an opportunity for the baby to grasp some bits of information and build more neutron connections. And the best part is, that you don’t have to be there all the time with the baby. With the right set up, toys and other helpful tools, you can provide the baby with a visually stimulating environment.
How to visually stimulate your baby?
Surround your baby with black and white and high contrast colours
Black and white colours help your newborn see. After a few weeks, the baby will see bright colours like red. So surround your baby with high contrast blankets, pillows and decorate your crib with high contrast props.
Buy high contrast toys & books
Love that cute baby pink soft toy or that stunning pastel green with white polka dots mobile (crib hanging)? Well, ditch that! Use high contrast colours in toys like rattles, teddy and even mobiles.
Buy high contrast books. Place them at a distance of about 8 to 12 inches from the baby. All these will attract your baby’s eye and you can watch his eyes just glued to them!
Use a mirror
Babies love faces. Give your child as much facetime you can. Other than that, use a mirror! Babies love to play with their own reflection. Initially, they will want to touch the baby in the mirror but slowly realise it is just a reflection. Mirrors are a great tool for movement of the eye as it follows an object.
Flashcards
While flashcards are a great tool for right brain development, they also provide visual stimulation. The cards are shown quickly to the baby one by one. Each card is shown only for 3 seconds. This rapid change tends to capture your baby’s attention very well.
Visual Stimulation everywhere
While we tend to concentrate on the nursery and the crib as the main area for visual stimulation. Carry some props with you wherever the baby goes with you. Not only will the process of visual stimulation continue but it also helps baby feel secure and less cranky in a new environment. For example, our two-step visual stimulation kit can be used everywhere in multiple formats. You can hang them to the back of your car seat as a hanging, use it as a book or individual tie-ups around the crib or even as an accordion stretched out on the floor.
From his birth to the first year, it is very important to provide visual stimulation consistently. The result of these efforts may not be immediate but in the long run, you will see a remarkable impact on memory and reading skills of the baby.
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