What’s the ‘sad beige’ parenting trend — and does it affect infant development?
Lifestyle
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2:30 PM on Thursday, August 7
By Leigh Giangreco for The 74, Stacker
What’s the ‘sad beige’ parenting trend — and does it affect infant development?
Millennial minimalism has taken over every corner of design in the last decade, from sterile, subway tile-covered coffee shops to muted cardigans that evoke “quiet luxury” to furniture favoring clean lines.
But nowhere is the neutral palette more prominent than in the nursery, The 74 reports. On social media, the decorative trend has been dubbed “sad beige” parenting. Marked by ivory walls, natural wooden toys, neutral clothing, and a conspicuous absence of primary colors, the “beige baby’s” room leans toward a chic aesthetic rather than a playful one.
The term “sad beige” began as “a bit” by Hayley DeRoche on TikTok in 2021, as a satirical reference to fashionable parents who want their children to grow up in style. Over the years, the market for baby gear and clothing has seen an uptick in beige hues, but there’s been controversy over whether and how the trend shapes infant development. Vision and psychology experts suggest that a beige nursery shouldn’t hinder a baby’s development, though it may be a bit of a bore for them.
“Honestly, I would have no concerns about the beige baby trend affecting children’s vision or their eyesight,” said Courtney Aldrich, an instructor with the child and family development team at Michigan State University who provides programming for early learning professionals and parents. “At such a young age, they’re not even able to see the decorations on the walls.”
An infant’s vision and brain development are closely linked, according to Dr. James D. Reynolds, a pediatric ophthalmologist and chair of the department of ophthalmology at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
“Especially the eye and brain, it’s a very complex symphony,” said Reynolds, whose research focuses on the fetal retina. “I like that analogy because an orchestra with just one instrument playing, yeah, that can be entertaining, but when all the instruments are playing and they’re not all playing the same notes, it’s a very complex structure. And that’s how the retina brain develops.”
Babies are born with almost no vision. Some photoreceptors, cells in the retina that detect light, begin to work at around 24 weeks of fetal development. But most become functional between 28 and 32 weeks, around the same time that visual receptors in the brain start to function, according to Reynolds.
“There’s no point in the photoreceptors coming online before the brain comes online, right?” Reynolds said. Without a functioning brain, the photoreceptors wouldn’t have anywhere to send the data they collected.
At 40 weeks of fetal development, a baby will be able to perceive light and shadows. A newborn is capable of “count fingers vision,” which means they can perceive hand movement and see objects in their field. That rudimentary vision is why adults must often shake an object in front of a baby in order for them to see it.
By four months old, an infant can see a large shape clearly on a computer screen from 20 feet away. But Reynolds said it’s not until nine months of age that a baby should have perfect vision, though the infant won’t be able to achieve that marker without stimulation.
“All this requires active stimulation and active development,” Reynolds noted. “The brain needs stimulation, especially in such a complex system as vision.”
What’s more important than exposing infants to colors at an early age is exposing them to black and white borders, contrast, and movement, which a beige palette may not provide. Since newborns have blurry vision and can’t see in full color, they’re drawn to high contrast, said Casey Krueger, a clinical psychologist and psychology supervisor in developmental behavioral pediatrics at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health.
“So around zero to three months, there is a preference for high contrast colors as well as a preference for faces,” Krueger said.
Between three and six months, infants can see primary colors. Between six and 12 months old, babies can start to appreciate the full color spectrum and begin to reach for objects, she added.
Krueger tamped down fears that beige walls and toys would stunt an infant’s cognitive development, explaining that there isn’t research suggesting that this alone causes developmental delays, she said. “But a toy with high contrast and bright colors is more visually stimulating and interesting for a baby,” she added.
High contrast is key in a baby’s first few weeks, echoes Zsuzsa Kaldy, a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and the leading principal investigator at the university’s Early Minds Lab.
“Early on, babies don’t have a very good color contrast sensitivity.” Kaldy explained. “Between one shade of beige and another shade of beige, we may be able to see the difference, but they won’t.” In that sense, she says, the room is less stimulating for a baby.
While the beige baby trend is in vogue, some of the best developmental boosts for an infant come from tried and true nursery decorations. Psychologists and vision experts recommend placing a mobile featuring contrasting colors above a child’s crib that will capture their attention and help develop their eyesight. And while there may not be drawbacks to giving an infant wooden toys, psychologists suggest introducing toys in a range of colors and textures to engage infants.
Beyond the toys, furniture, and other objects filling an infant’s room, psychologists suggest that the best way to encourage an infant’s visual and cognitive development is through human interaction. Since infants can only see a few feet away early on, they love tracking movements in mirrors, mobiles, and faces, Aldrich noted.
“It doesn’t matter what you paint their room,” said Reynolds. But there are things you can do to promote healthy development regardless of the hues you choose, he added, like hanging a mobile above a child’s crib. “Have it be black and white stripes. Have it be vertical stripes, horizontal stripes, circles, have it be able to move like mobiles do. That’s much more stimulating than throwing some red or blue or yellow at them. Color naturally comes along,” said Reynolds.
This story was produced by The 74 and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
