Decorating your babies nursery
As you decorate your baby’s nursery, you think about making it an inviting and comfortable environment. You want to have the conveniences that will help you take care of your baby as well as the things that will help her to be happy and safe. However, it is also important to think about the effects of the nursery environment on your infant’s growing mind.
Color and comfort
Many of the things that are important for baby, we automatically do already out of common sense and intuition. For example, it is good for babies to be in rooms with pleasant colours, attractive lighting and clean air. Very few of us would instinctively decorate a baby’s nursery in gunmetal gray, keep the window blinds closed at all times and fill the air with pollutants.
However, some of the subtleties of decorating for baby are not quite so apparent. For example, consider the choices of colors that are available for baby’s room. While white is always a time-honored standby, more and more people are painting the nursery walls with brilliant hues. Some opt for the pastel yellows, pinks, greens and blues so often associated with babies. Other parents take into account the fact that babies respond first to primary colors, and instead choose fire engine reds, lemon yellows and vibrant blues. While these brights do elicit a response from infants, keep in mind that it is possible to over-stimulate a baby’s mind and this can cause your baby to be fussy and cranky. So, instead of covering each wall of the nursery with red or yellow, consider a more mellow pastel backdrop with bright, primary accents such as a border or furniture pieces.
Some people suggest black and white color schemes since these are the first things baby can view. However, baby so quickly tunes into color that the goals of a black and white nursery are outdated as soon as baby moves up a size in diapers.
Make the room conducive to rest
In order for your infant’s mind to grow and develop optimally, your baby needs to get adequate sleep every day and night. Research studies have shown that well-rested children learn and develop more efficiently than those who are sleep-deprived. So, while you want to make your baby’s room stimulating for his waking hours, you also want to ensure that he can sleep well.
Add a lamp or light to your nursery that has a dim setting. This is very useful for that middle of the night feedings or soothings since it keeps you both from waking completely. Bright light triggers a waking response that you do not want to encourage in the middle of the night while you are helping your baby set his clock.
Make sure any motion toys can be turned off or stashed out of sight of your baby’s crib. You want the view from the crib and the rocking chair to be of cheery, but soothing items.
The right kinds of stimulation
You do want to provide plenty of things to entertain and stimulate baby during her waking hours. Attractive artwork with primary colors is a good start. A mobile for over the crib that spins can soothe baby while entertaining her as she goes to sleep. Keep more stimulating toys for the changing area and the floor play areas. Keep a basket of toys near the changing area, or hang fun items over the changing table to entertain your little one while you go about the necessary grooming tasks.
Put a brightly colored, patterned, soft rug or play mat on the floor for baby’s exploration at playtime. Since her eyes are level with the baseboards when she is on her tummy, make sure you place several favorite toys or books around the perimeter of the room on low shelves. As she learns to crawl, make sure you have a child-sized chair. Babies love to have furniture that exactly fits their needs and it encourages them to experience the world in new and different ways.