Are 'sad beige' babies a thing?
Does growing up in a 'sad beige' nursery make for a 'sad beige' baby? The question puts a much-mocked Millennial trend in the spotlight — one that favours muted colours and perceived chicness over the bold exuberance of childhood.
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Millennial parents have been outfitting their nurseries with off-white walls, light wood furniture and neutral-toned toys in recent years, and retailers have happily followed. Noting the trend, TikTok user Hayley DeRoche coined the term 'sad beige' in a 2023 clip.
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But some people have wondered if sad beige could be more than an aesthetic choice. Could an all-brown-all-the-time environment negatively affect infant development?
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Experts say no — but kids probably find it boring.
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'Honestly, I would have no concerns about the beige baby trend affecting children's vision or their eyesight,' Courtney Aldrich, an instructor with the child and family development team at Michigan State University, told The 74. 'At such a young age, they're not even able to see the decorations on the walls.'
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Pediatrician Lisa Diard agrees. In an interview with the Cleveland Clinic website, she noted that many parents successfully raise children with different colour palettes around the world.
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'Having a personal aesthetic is harmless — it's a thing that a parent doesn't necessarily have to give up — especially in the early years of raising a child.' said Diard. 'The child's not going to care early on if their room is beige.'
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That said, a baby that's developing normally should have perfect vision by nine months of age. And to get to that point, it needs visual stimulation — in contrast more than in colours. Images and patterns in stark white and black, as well as moving objects, can help.
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Psychologists and vision experts recommend standard early parenting decor, such as mobiles with contrasting hues hanging above a child's crib. As for toys, objects in various colours and textures will engage children more than monotoned ones.
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'Early on, babies don't have a very good colour contrast sensitivity,' Zsuzsa Kaldy, a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, told The 74. 'Between one shade of beige and another shade of beige, we may be able to see the difference, but they won't.'
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One aspect of the sad beige trend that experts heartily support is its tendency toward natural, sustainable materials such as non-toxic cleaning products, natural fibres and plant-based paints and dyes.
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