The Anti Sad Beige Baby Club
A sad beige baby refers to a parents choice of colour palette for their child’s toys, clothes and bedroom. A beige baby will be surrounded by neutral colours, like beige, grey, and muted earth tones.
Recent years have seen a surge of parents choosing neutral colours for their baby’s clothes, toys and bedroom which is likely attributed to what is being consumed from social media influencers with their instagram perfect homes.
Some mums, that have decided to adopt the label of ‘beige mum’, defend the trend with reasons such as the clothes being gender neutral proving the perfect hand-me-downs for future children. At pocketbook parenting we are strong believers in recycling clothes. Children sometimes only wear an item 3 times before it no longer fits and we find ourselves throwing it out of their wardorbe. Please, where possible, rehome your child’s clothes, add them to the charity shop pile, give them to friends are family or if you have the space, keep them for any future children you may have. We deviated from our point a bit there but what we are trying to say is we agree with the ‘beige mums’ argument that a neutral colour palette makes hand-me-downs suitable for any gender. However, this beige aesthetic has been challenged with many concerns over it’s affect on a child’s development.
Newborns have very limited vision, most cannot focus past 10 inches from their face. Their eyesight evolves quickly within the initial few months of life but colour vision doesn’t develop until a child is around 5 months of age. In this sense the ‘sad beige babies’ are not aware of the lack of colour in their lives! There is plenty of debate online as to whether an exclusively neutral colour is detrimental to your child’s development. The short answer is no. Highly contrasted colours can catch a baby’s attention because it is easier for their developing eyes to focus on. Muted colours tend to blend into the world. Bright colours can help a baby’s brain to develop as they stimulate the developing optic nerves and elicit curiosity. However, patterns and contrast are really what’s important for development, it’s not necessarily about the brightness or vibrancy of the colours. For example, black and white patterns are often used to help develop a child’s vision and cognition as they are are contrasting , it doesn’t need to be neon pinks and blues.
To conclude the argument of whether or not a sad beige aesthetic is harmful to a baby’s development, the answer is no. We encourage parents to do what makes them feel comfortable and happy. A beige bedroom can actually benefit a child’s sleep as it promotes relaxation and calm. A busy nursery can sometimes be distracting to a young child trying to get to sleep. If you want to be a ‘beige mum’ don’t let anyone stop you! Own that title. Do what works for you and your family. It’s your family. It’s your choice.
Whilst a lack of colour is not going to make or break a child’s development, there is a lot of science on the effects colour has on our mental and emotional wellbeing. We are big lovers of colour and pattern (you should see Maisie’s apartment…). For us, our homes have always been a place of sanctuary and personally we find being surrounded by colours and mixed-matched patterns brings us joy and content! Our aesthetic is not for everyone but colour psychology supports the notion that different colours can evoke various positive emotions in ones self. Take a look below the colour chart that explains the meanings associated with each colour. Colour perception is subjective but there is a universal meaning to each colour. When choosing how to paint your nursery or what colours you should dress your child in, bare in mind the benefits colour can have for our mental wellbeing.
