| Do
babies have favourite colours? |
 |
| Did
you know that very young babies prefer yellow and red whereas
older babies prefer green and blue? |
|
| A baby’s knowledge about
the world comes through its senses. Through these a baby learns
to recognise his mother’s voice, his father’s face,
the smell and taste of milk and the feel of a soft toy against
his cheek. Although a very young baby’s sight is blurred
(a newborn baby can focus best at about 25 cms), babies can
see and distinguish between colours. By as early as six weeks,
babies can show a preference for one colour over another. |
|
| In the past this has been investigated
by measuring the amount of time a baby stares at one colour
compared to another. More recently researchers have uses a technique
which involves showing babies different colours on a computer
screen and recording their response to each colour by measuring
brain waves and eye movement. |
|
| Newborn babies
can tell the difference between red and green but by about four
months, they can tell the difference between all colours. In
general, very young babies appear to prefer yellows and reds
with older babies showing a preference for blues and greens.
Some babies show a marked preference for just one colour and
it is possible that this becomes their favourite colour as they
grow up. Babies apparently can also distinguish between shades
of colour and, not surprisingly, prefer almost any other colour
to either brown or grey! |
|
| By the time a baby is eight
months old, he can see almost as well as an adult. However,
the normal development of vision depends on a baby getting enough
practice using his eyes. Exposing a baby to interesting and
colourful things for him to focus on and track will provide
stimulation and will help create the pathways in the brain that
are essential for normal vision. |
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