High Contrast Baby Toys

Newborns see edges before they see colour. In the first weeks, a baby's eyes pick out bold black-and-white shapes far more easily than pastels, so a high contrast toy held at feeding distance gives them something they can actually focus on. These are the black-and-white toys, books and cards we stock for exactly that job.

What's in the range

  • Flash cards — the simplest start. Hold one card 20–25cm from your baby's face, then move it slowly to encourage tracking. Six age sets: four in black and white, plus two colour sets for once colour vision arrives.
  • Cloth books — black-and-white pages with crinkle, squeak and 3D tails, and a hook for the pram or play gym. The Animal Kingdom book mixes in colour pages for when vision moves on at around three months.
  • Rattle set — a high contrast rattle and maraca for the reaching-and-grasping stage from about three months.

When to use them

From birth for gazing and tummy time, from around six weeks for tracking, and from three to four months for reaching. Colour vision arrives gradually from three months, so black and white stays useful well into the first year alongside brighter toys.

Not sure where to start? Our guide to black and white toys and how they help your baby see and learn explains the science and what to do at each stage. Everything here is suitable from birth, and there's free UK delivery on orders over £25.