Say Goodbye to Sad Beige Baby: Kids Love Color

The “sad beige baby” trend has been popular on social media for several years now. If you are unfamiliar, it’s essentially a beige, gray, and cream aesthetic that parents use in their home and their kids’ clothes. Parents choose baby clothes with neutral or muted tones and opt for colorless wooden toys instead of brightly colored toys. 

If there's one thing we know about parenthood, it is that it's anything but beige. From the markers on your wall to the clothes and toys scattered on the floor and strawberries upside down on your carpet, parenthood can be messy. No, strike that: parenthood is messy. 

And the sad beige baby aesthetic? It's not great at covering up messes if you ask us. Those neutral color baby bodysuits and cream-colored play mats may look cute and clean. That is until your baby spits up all over that mat or drops spaghetti all down her front.

Besides that, beige colors are, well, a little boring. Is beige your child's favorite color? We didn't think so.

Children are clearly attracted to a bright color palette and contrasting designs. Walking down the toy aisle is like walking through a kaleidoscope of loud, contrasting colors that beg for your little one's attention (and, consequently, your child begging for you to buy them). Toy companies know that bright-colored toys are more visually interesting for kids and hold their attention longer. 

A "sad beige mom" may see brightly colored baby toys as an eye sore, but colors are important for a child’s overall development. Because colors are so interesting to children and effectively hold their attention, they actually encourage language development and cognitive skills. 

Typically, children start learning the names of colors around 18 months of age. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, it’s important to name and point out colors to your children to help them learn.

Learning the names of colors helps children build their vocabulary and catalog the world around them. For example, the sun is yellow, their favorite toy car is green, and the family dog is black. Colors are an easy, concrete reference point for kids to start learning about patterns and characteristics of things in their lives. 

Children’s books are usually full of brightly colored pictures that keep your little one’s attention. Selecting and reading books with interesting, colorful pictures is another way to help your child learn colors and develop literacy skills. 

Children start learning about colors from an early age, and as they begin learning emotions, they start associating colors with different emotions. There is a growing body of research that shows how color impacts children's behavior and emotions. 

Studies show that children typically apply positive emotions to bright colors and more negative emotions towards darker colors, like brown, black, and gray. If you surround your child with their favorite colors, it can boost their dopamine and hold their attention, both of which contribute to easier learning. 

Have you noticed that kids gravitate to wearing bright colors or their favorite colors? They may also want to wear the same dress or tee over and over. This is likely because it makes them feel happy! Toddlers and kids fully embrace  dopamine dressing.  If you allow your toddler to pick out their own outfit, you’ll probably end up with a mix of patterns and bright colors that don’t really go together, and may not even be appropriate for the weather, but they will be smiling. 

It is important to acknowledge that some studies show that too many bright colors in a learning environment, like a school, can become overwhelming or overstimulating for some children. For example, a room with a lot of red, a color that is known for energy and excitement, may not be the best room for a class of preschoolers.

Understanding that color impacts your child and how it can influence their behavior is important in their overall learning and development. Parenthood and childhood, after all, are full of colorful emotions. 

As we mentioned, parenthood is certainly not beige. Instead, it’s colorful children’s plates and sippy cups stacked by the sink, spaghetti stains on onesies, and colorful toys scattered everywhere. Often, it’s colossal meltdowns that are definitely more closely associated with the color red rather than beige.

But despite these challenges, parenthood is also fun! As a parent or caretaker, there is joy in watching your child's face light up the first time they experience something new. And they say the silliest things that make you literally laugh out loud.

In the midst of messes, there are beautiful moments. Like when your baby flashes his first smile. Or when your two-year-old grabs you by the cheeks and kisses you. Or when your four-year-old actually picks up her toys without being asked. 

Childhood can be messy, gross, and unpredictable, but it definitely is also fun, colorful, and filled with joy.

When it comes to childhood, we believe it is full of loud, fun colors - whether physical or emotional- that should be embraced! 

At Posh Peanut, we celebrate childhood with fun and colorful children’s clothes and styles that can withstand whatever your little peanut can throw at them. Let your kids be kids in fun colors they love and clothing that moves and grows with them through all their messy adventures. 

Say goodbye to the “sad beige baby” trend. We promise it’s more fun.

Sources: 

1. https://www.thebump.com/a/colors-baby-development

2. https://www.color-meanings.com/color-psychology-child-behavior-and-learning-through-colors/

3. https://www.color-meanings.com/color-psychology-how-colors-affect-your-everyday-life/

4. https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/activities-to-encourage-speech-and-language-development/

5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8021626/