Finding the right formula for baby’s first setting may be as crucial for child development as nourishment is.
Dramatic findings about brain development and its strong environmental link are underscored in a report released last year by the Carnegie Corp. Task Force on Meeting the Needs of Young Children. The report recognizes that newborns usually have a well-organized capacity for adapting to their surroundings.
“But the unfolding of the developing brain is not inevitable,” the report states. “It depends on a fostering environment that is reasonably stable, while at the same time stimulating, responsive, protective and loving.” The quality of this setting, plus social experience, has a “decisive long-lasting impact on a child’s well-being and ability to learn,” according to the report.
How can parents take advantage of these findings? Enhancing baby’s setting so it’s not only soothing but stimulating is one way.
Making room
Well in advance of birth, a nurturing space should be set aside. What’s in vogue may be fun, but it’s not a prerequisite for baby’s pleasure.
Because available space is as important as available budget, study the area to be transformed into baby’s room. Its dimensions, architecture and other elements influence layout. Windows, for example, restrict the height of items placed in front of them. Wall and floor vents curtail furniture placement.
Take cues, too, from carpet and other existing features that aren’t going to change. You’ll have to work around them if a coordinated look means something to you.
When a design or architectural feature doesn’t inspire a plan, you’ll need an alternate starting point. Janet Robb, a Colorado specialist in children’s environmental design, suggests a family heirloom to launch the project.
A likely candidate is a chair, such as a rocker from your childhood. The meaning it holds is worth the effort, not to mention the savings, to revitalize it. Exceptions are items that don’t meet Consumer Product Safety Commission standards, outlined in the commission’s free brochure, “Tips for Baby’s Safety.”
Don’t go overboard
Robb and other professionals recommend conservatively decorating the nursery with something that interests you. Maybe it’s a sense of nature that’s reflected in patterned fabric. Maybe it’s mythical creatures that are illustrated in a picture. Whatever touches you, however, don’t go overboard on the look.
“If decoration is very defined, a child’s imagination has no place to go,” says interior designer Bonnie Jaffey of the California firm, Kaleidoscope Interiors. “A child’s imagination is so strong, all it takes is a suggestion to trigger it.”
Jaffey tested her theories with “hints of decor” in her son Aaron’s room. By the time he was toddling, his fingers could twirl the decorative wheels attached to the changing table’s front legs.
Other details in the room that can be easily altered include a wall border in a youthful pattern that’s easy to replace once baby’s tastes come into play.
Moving forward
Along with a crib, list other items that are necessary, including a changing station, storage and a comfortable adult chair.
Draw a rudimentary layout. Let each item’s use and its relationship to other pieces be your guide. If you’ll be nursing, position the adult chair near the crib. Put the changing area near storage for diapers, supplies and clothing.
If space is too tight, go vertical. Use a wall grid’s shelves for necessities or a closet’s hanging sweater storage for diapers. But don’t put anything where baby could reach potential hazards.
When a plan is established, go armchair shopping through parenting magazines. Get current issues and clip appealing designs to file with room dimensions, snapshots and swatches. These tools take the guesswork out of buying and enable salespeople to help you.
Wood and white furnishings predominate in the infant market. Some view wood as a warm touch that brings in the outdoors. Others prefer white for its clean look. Besides personal taste, let safety guide selections.
From the eyes of babes
Before decorating a nursery for newborns, it’s important to know what they see. Something across the room makes little difference to those up to 2 months old, who see only about 8 inches away.
By 6 weeks of age, the range of sight increases to a foot, and babies now differentiate shape, size and pattern. Even so, black-and-white high-contrast patterns have more appeal because the retina’s rods and cones, which perceive color, are developing. Close-ups are preferred, but an image’s outside edges are viewed more than internal patterns.
In the first 60 days, environmental stimulus beyond a crib mobile is usually limited to bedding. But don’t assume that it should be high-contrast, too.
“Parents ask if they should decorate a nursery in black-and-white checkerboard,” writes infant researcher and author Dr. Susan Lundington-Hoe, who answers them with an emphatic “no.”
“Preferences change quickly in the first six months,” she explains. “What’s stimulating the first week would be a bore by the second or third month. You can’t redecorate every two weeks. Instead, use posters and cardboard flashcards.”
Shapes, faces, targets and curved lines are preferred over other images by about 2 months, when baby scans and remembers the entire visual field, including interior patterns and outside edges.
At about 4 months, depth perception begins, focus adjusts and full color can be seen. However, vision development doesn’t require an overabundance of room color.
A time for everything
“The whole room needs to be something in which a child can either relax or play,” says Denver child development specialist Ruth Wimmer. “If (the room) bombards visually all the time, it’s a hard place to calm down because there are too many distractions.”
Recognizing the need 12 years ago for a nursery item that takes sight preferences into consideration, Wimmer designed the Infant Stim-Mobile. Its high-contrast, black-and-white graphics, including stripes, faces, bull’s-eyes and checkerboards, are similar to what researchers used in tests.
Because sensory stimulation is useful only when baby is alert and playful, Wimmer notes that all toys should be removed from time to time.
“There’s a time and place for everything,” Wimmer says. “The time for high-contrast toys is playtime; the time for soothing colors is quiet time. A nursery should not resemble a Coca-Cola sign or generic aisle of a grocery store.”
Even the best plans and purchases don’t always add up to an ideal setup. If the look doesn’t tie together after all is arranged, redo the layout. Considering the many changes this setting will undergo to keep pace with your growing child, you may as well get used to trying different formulas early on.
A SAFE HAVEN FOR BABY
It takes more than soothing lullabies to keep newborns secure. Constant vigilance to oversee products also is required.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission offers a free five-page brochure, “Tips for Your Baby’s Safety,” which lists its current safety standards. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Office of Information and Public Affairs, Publication Request, U.S. CPSC, Washington, D.C. 20207.
To help parents shop wisely, the Juvenile Product Manufacturers Association created a certification program in conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Items that pass rigid testing get a “JPMA Certified” mark. As a further aid, JPMA offers the booklet “Safe & Sound for Baby.” Its recommendations:
– Changing table: Buy one with straps that prevent a baby from falling, or purchase a strap for separate installation.
– Crib: Safety standards call for intact slats or spindles no more than 2 3/8 inches apart, and corner posts no higher than 1/16 of an inch above end panels to prevent strangulation from clothes caught on them. Measurements don’t apply to canopies or posts more than 16 inches above end panels. When baby is 35 inches tall or 2 years old, get a youth or regular bed.
– Crib mattress: Get a mattress that fits snugly with no more than two fingers’ width between its edges and the crib sides.
– Infant bedding: Select bumper pads that fit around the entire crib and tie or snap securely in place. Once tied, trim excess strap or ribbon so it can’t get entangled. When baby can sit, ban the bumper.
– Check equipment often to be sure there’s never missing hardware, loose threads, holes or tears.
– Window coverings: Whether blinds, roller shades, curtains or shutters, baby’s windows should have blackout features for nap-time. If necessary, get a device to corral any window-covering cords so they don’t pose a strangulation risk.
– Lighting: A dimmer allows the best control of artificial light and softens the setting when necessary. For late-night feeding, a dim light can be provided by a colored bulb or night light, which lets you check on baby without altering the illumination.
For a free copy of “Safe & Sound for Baby,” send a self-addressed business envelope to: JPMA Safety Brochure, 2 Greentree Centre, P.O. Box 955, Marlton, N.J. 08053. A Spanish edition also is available.
