Making Babies and things for babies to look at

I'm not big on decorating the house. We move a lot. So what's the point? I'm a minimalist anyway.

We just had a baby girl. Yesterday I read something that made me feel kinda sorry for how little regard I'd been giving to her cognitive developmental needs. I'd been taking the lax approach...you know, "just feed them and love them; that's what's important." Regarding how little I choose to decorate the house, my conscience was pricked when I read that babies who have nothing to look at but white walls don't get enough visual stimulation.

So after a couple seconds of research in some ancient parenting books (circa 1980...don't ask my why I settled for such dated material; but it was fascinating nonetheless), I decided to make some toys for my baby girl. You know, the cognitive - spacial relation - mind stimulating type of visual objects.

Before I went through the trouble of making these crude objects by hand, I took a trip to the toy store to see if there were already things there that fit my wish list. I was looking for a white ball with a bull's eye target on the bottom, a whole mobile of balls like that. Couldn't find any such thing. I wanted instant gratification, so online shopping or looking any further didn't appeal to me either. So I painted a target on the bottom of a ball we already have...SHE LOVED IT! I'd never seen her so transfixed on anything save it be a human face. It was so simple, but so neat.

I also wanted a certain other kind of mobile, geometric shapes in translucent colors boldly framed in contrasting black. Couldn't find anything like that either, so I set to work. That one is still in the works.

My toddler helped me make a shiny silver spiral that catches light as it rotates. She likes that. And we made crepe paper streamers that flutter in the breeze of a fan...she likes watching that too.

As for human faces, babies like those a lot, so I b/w'd some happy photos of my husband & son. She digs those. She smiles, coos and "a-gah" 's over those as much as she ever has.

So this is fun. It's fun studying this stuff, It's fun making things, it's fun taking her education into my own hands instead of letting Fisher Price do it, ,and I love seeing her happy and mentally stimulated. It really works.

Here is a sampling of some of our crude creations:

(Jenn, if you're reading this I've got to tell you that I've had your voice ringing in the back of my mind, "That's ghetto." LOL)

Even though I got these ideas from a book written in 1981, modern research still confirms that these things are wonderful for developing babies' minds. I know my crude creations aren't professional-grade and aren't intended for my baby to touch, bat, or mouth. In fact, I'm confident that the American Academy of Pediatrics would freak if they knew that 1981 book is still on library shelves. But I like doing this for her, putting in the effort, and watching her eyes study this stuff with fascination.

My thoughts are evolving...Now that I've found this much zeal for my daughter's cognitive development, maybe I'll put in the effort to find some professionally-made versions of these toys.

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