Parenting Guide | Sensory Buys for Babies

When your beautiful bundle of joy arrives, they will see the world as a bit of a blur. This will quickly change, however, as they begin to focus on close objects, their colour vision develops, and depth perception comes into play. And what better time to introduce interactive toys to their daily routine? Etta Loves’ collection of muslins, play mats and blankets is a great choice for early-days development. These clever designs not only provide a soft surface for nursing and tummy time, but the high-contrast patterns are also created to help stimulate your baby’s vision, which are certified by the brand’s resident orthoptist, Laura. This is where things start to get a bit technical, and Etta Loves’ Jen is on hand to talk us through the science behind introducing your baby to certain shapes and colours early on.

“From birth, the infant visual system is receptive and responsive to patterns, and it's been shown that infants, including newborns, prefer to look at a patterned surface over a plain surface,” explains Jen. “This is because patterned surfaces are more neurally stimulating than plain surfaces, supporting babies' cognitive development as well as helping them to make sense of the world.”  But what about colour? Many of us will have adopted the idea that newborns can only see in black and white, but Jen is quick to share the facts: “It's a myth,” says Jen. “At birth, the cells in a baby's eyes are immature, however they can see some intense colours such as a bright red or green. By two months, they can also see blue-ish colours.” She goes on to explain how the Etta Loves design process is steeped in science. “We engage our PhD student at the baby lab at the University of Sussex for precise scales and feedback on optimising our designs. These are then tested through eye tracking with babies to see if they respond to the patterns as we would expect. This process ensures that our products offer the best visual and cognitive support for babies.”

Images by Etta Loves

“Between birth and two months old, babies love looking at patterns made up of lines. From two months onwards they prefer round shapes, and by four months old, they will already enjoy looking for odd ones out!”

Jen Fuller, Founder of Etta Loves

Of your baby’s five senses, hearing is one that is fully developed by the time they are born, which would explain why a newborn can recognise familiar noises right away. All those hours of singing and talking to your growing bump will have paid off and you’ll find that your child will be naturally soothed and responsive to your voice. There are four stages of auditory development in babies — awareness, paying attention, responding and understanding meaning — and there are plenty of tools that you can utilise to reinforce these milestones.

Playing music is a wonderful way to engage with and support a newborn’s cognitive development from the very first days; it can create bonding moments whilst nursing, offer a welcome distraction during nappy changes, and provide an energising accompaniment to playtime. We love products like musical mobiles, which can be hung over their crib or changing table, serenading with the tinkling of a lullaby — this Liewood giraffe design will become a centrepiece to their nursery space, and we couldn’t be more smitten. Our friends at Moulin Roty also have the acoustics covered with their adorable multi-sensory activity toy. Not only will it make a cute addition to a play space, but the decorative hanging details offer a functional purpose too: your baby can squidge the fluffy cloud to make it squeak and shake the acorn for a fun rattling sound — there’s even a mirrored apple so that your little one can get a glimpse of that gorgeous face. You don’t even necessarily need toys to make auditory play a fun experience for everyone. There are lots of interesting noises to be discovered around the home and outdoors, from the everyday hum of the washing machine to birds singing in the trees, each one helping your child to build up a picture of the world around them.

Images by Sophie la Girafe (left) and Rainbow Designs (right)

As well as providing a functional purpose, sensory play is also a wonderful opportunity to bond with your baby, creating lasting memories of those precious milestone moments — you’ll never forget the first time they giggle at a funny face you’ve pulled or grab on to your finger tightly. Tactility also plays a major role in the development of a baby’s hand-eye coordination and helps in the formation of skills such as gripping and clapping.

Whilst their vision is still a little fuzzy in those early weeks, your baby will start seeing the world through their fingertips. And from around 3 months old, they will be able to identify nearby objects and attempt to touch them, referred to as visually directed reaching. At this stage, they’ll likely be grabbing on to anything (and everything) in the vicinity — this is where a sensory toy comes in handy as it’ll save you the discomfort of prising your hair out of their grip and give them something to keep their hands occupied. The interactive elements of a fabric picture book will tap into their love of bold visual contrasts and the variety of soft, squishy, smooth and scrunchy surfaces will ignite their touch receptors. The same goes for a play mat, like these adorable designs from Liewood. Perfect for tummy-time play, the wholesome appliquéd scenes (we’ve got a soft spot for the safari design, complete with a friendly elephant and giraffe) include different textures and 3D details that your little one can tug, flap and play with to their heart’s content.

Activity toys and rattles are also a great idea for sensory playtime, especially designs that encourage hand-eye coordination and using both hands simultaneously. As easy as this sounds, it takes practice to coordinate the dual function of both hands, so it’s a big step for tiny ones. This usually occurs at around 4 to 5 months old, so be prepared with toys like Sophie la Girafe’s sensory ball. This lightweight ergonomic toy is made for tiny fingers to explore with its textured patches, colourful holes and two handles — it also helps that the natural rubber material doubles as a teether, soothing sore gums and comforting your baby.

Images by Liewood