Are Sensory Videos Good for Your Baby?

Sensory videos are so popular now, in particular the very popular hey bear sensory videos and you have probably heard other parents talk about them or seen them pop up on the internet and blogs and want to know a little more, especially as this type of sensory play involves screen time, so let’s delve a little further.

Sensory videos are a great way to stimulate your baby’s senses, help them to develop, and even gives you a little break too. Hey Bear Sensory videos specifically feature high contrast sensory images and patterns, bright colours or high contrasting black and white images, repetition, and soothing music. All these elements have been proven to help stimulate your baby’s developing brain. These videos are a great way to sit, relax and bond with your baby. You may even have time for a quick cuppa!

We do also recommend switching up watching sensory videos too however, by offering a variety of different sensory toys for babies or sensory books for you little one to look at the high contrasting images is a great way to incorporate stimulative play and bonding time too. Playing together with interactive and engaging sensory toys is the best time to incorporate tummy time, by placing your baby on their front whilst lying a sensory cards or a sensory toy in-front of your baby to encourage the development of their neck, tummy muscles and overall body strength all at the same time.

So, with all this being said, we're going to delve deeper into the benefits and negatives of allowing your baby to watch sensory videos.

The Pros to Sensory Videos:

• They help stimulate the baby’s visual and auditory senses, as well as improve eye coordination and movement.
• They can help your baby learn about different textures, colours, and shapes and potentially begin to recognise familiar things such as animals or fruits for example.
• They can be a calming and relaxing activity for babies, the rhythmic tunes can be soothing.
• The videos are short and sweet, so they don’t get bored or frustrated watching them (if the screen time is kept to a minimum).
• Lullabies/soft singing within the videos can calm your baby and wind them down.

The Cons to Sensory Videos:

• Your baby could become overstimulated which can cause agitation and they may have difficulty sleeping.
• The constant changing of images and sounds can be overwhelming for their developing brains making them fussy and restless.

All in all, sensory videos are beneficial to infants, but as with all screen time it should really be kept to a minimum. Why not stick to 5 minutes once or twice a day, or several times a week to be on the safe side? Sensory videos are an excellent method to teach your child some new colours, shapes, and songs. While sensory videos can help with visual stimulation and eye coordination, it’s also vital to remember that a baby’s growth requires multi-sensory activities. The following are some great screen-free 3D sensory activities that are ‘hands on’ to help your child’s development and ensure you can have some real 1-1 bonding with your little cutie.

Here are a few of our recommended sensory toys & activities you can do to pull away from the tv and limit your screen time.

• A Newborn Sensory Box
• Listening to music
• Tummy time with a variety of Sensory Toys for them to grab and examine
• Sensory Card for Babies
• Looking up at toy attachments from beneath the baby gym
• A range of Sensory Books
• Glancing through books that are bright and textures