We bet you can’t stop gazing at your little bundle of joy, soaking in every bit of the preciousness you can. But do you wonder what your baby sees when they open their little eyes for that brief moment? Let’s take a look at their world through their eyes.
What Is Vision Development In Babies?
When your little baby opens their eyes for the first time, there is a whole new world out there for them to see, explore, understand and love. Oh! The bright colours, shining objects, abstract shapes, and so much more stimulate their visual senses. But as you may already know, their little eyes can’t absorb all there is to see in the world at birth. Their vision develops in stages throughout their first 24 months.
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When Does Newborn Vision Start Developing?
Your baby’s vision is linked to their brain development. Right from birth, as your baby’s brain starts growing rapidly, their vision too develops at a swift rate. By the time your baby is six months old, they have a well-functioning visual sense. While this development happens as a very fast progression, you can observe this in clearly defined stages.
Stages of Vision Development In Babies
You will notice that your baby’s vision develops in many ways right after birth. You will observe that there is a link between their visual development and other developmental milestones. Here’s how your baby’s vision develops:
1. Newborn
At this stage, your baby’s eyes are closed most of the time. Whenever they open their little beady eyes, it may seem like they are glaring at your face. In reality, they can’t see much and can view only those objects that are 8-11 inches close to their eyes. Babies at this stage are responsive to bright light, colours, and large shapes.
2. Two-Three Months
At this stage, your baby’s visual focus improves. They have also learnt visual tracking and can follow the path of an object in front of them. They may start recognising familiar faces and even brighten up your day with a little smile upon seeing you. However, it may appear as if their gaze is odd or that they are not looking directly at you, looking over you or even through you. This is perfectly normal for this stage because their eyes are not yet coordinated.
3. Four-Six Months
At this stage, your baby reaches several milestones of visual development. They can now see the world around them in full colour. They can also start seeing distant objects that may be several feet away. Their eyes have learnt to work in sync, improving their depth perception.
This is also the stage when your baby has gained perfect neck control. Even while lying down, they will be able to turn their head and look around them, grasping more and more of the world around them. Their ability to gauge distance encourages them to reach out and grab nearby objects. Have you noticed that they constantly prefer one particular toy? There’s a good chance it is not specifically the toy but its colour that they are attracted to. Yes, they have a favourite colour already!
4. Six-Eight Months
Your child has reached the half-year mark and can see the world almost similarly to you. They can recognise their parents even from a distance, so they’re finally at the stage when they can sit on their rocker watching you work or complete your chores without feeling lonely. They also enjoy gazing out of the window, with so much to take in through their eyes. Babies at this stage have learnt to crawl, which is a major step towards building their hand-eye coordination. As they spot an object of interest, crawl in its direction and try to reach out for it, they are on an advanced journey towards their visual development.
5. Nine-Twelve Months
At this stage, your baby will have a much better ability to see objects around them. They also would have an improve grasping ability. This, combined, encourages them to hold and stand, and even walk with support. As they are able to identify an object for support at a distance, they may even get the confidence to walk hands-free to that object.
By this age, your baby will also demonstrate improved visual memory.
6. One-Two Years
Your baby has reached the developmental milestones of their visual senses. Now is the time for exploration. At this stage, their eyes are eager and excited to take in a lot more. They will demonstrate an interest in picture books, flashcards and other visual stimuli. And beyond simply seeing what is out there in front of them, they have also learnt to create visualisations of familiar objects in their minds. What about new and unfamiliar objects they may hear about? Their imagination flies to heights that even you can’t see!
How To Stimulate Your Baby’s Vision Development?
Your baby’s vision will develop hand-in-hand with various milestones that they achieve. Each stage has its significance and offers a lot for the baby to learn. Here’s how you can encourage the development of their visual senses:
1. Ample Cuddle Time!
Newborns can see only a few inches in front of them. When you hold your baby in your arms either to cuddle or to breastfeed or bottlefeed, you are giving them a good close-up look at the one who loves them the most! While it is surely comforting for them, it is also beneficial as a step toward their visual stimuli.
2. Crib Mobiles
When your baby hears chimes and sees brightly coloured objects dangling above them, they are attracted to look at them with a constant gaze. This helps them build their visual focus. The Intellibaby Shiny Dancers Mobile will keep your baby engaged with the holographic image and easily identifiable shapes.
3. Spinning Discs
While your baby is enjoying some tunny time, give them a visual treat with the Intellibaby Spinning Discs. These work wonders to stimulate their occipital lobe and engage your baby’s visual tracking abilities.
4. Play Gym
A play gym is on every parent’s wish list. Usually so, because it is exciting to see the baby lying on their back, trying to grab the suspended toys, ring the dangling bells or simply keep gazing at the various visual stimuli they offer. But did you know, that this can play an important part in their visual development? Reaching and grabbing are ways in which your baby demonstrates that their vision is developing, and so is their hand-eye coordination. Intellibaby Activity Gym along with the Intellibaby Reaching Ring Mobile, or the Intellibaby Soft Kicking Ball are must-haves for your baby’s nursery.
5. Monochrome Flash Cards
You may wonder why monochrome, since colour is also an important part of visual development. Monochrome shapes and drawings help your baby’s visual focus and make their vision a little less blurry. It is only at a later stage that they can identify the colour. In the initial stages, the Intellibaby Mirror and Monochrome Card Set does wonders for their developing brain.
6. Picture Books
Let your child have ample visual stimulus through picture books. As they flip through the pages of their book, they will recognise some objects of daily use and take a solid mental registration of their shapes, colours and patterns. Books like Intellibaby Peek-A-Boo In The Park let your baby enjoy the visual stimulus while engaging their tactile senses. The peek-a-boo design of the book lets children pull our hidden objects from the book, improving their visual memory and object permanence- a highly significant milestone in the journey of visual development.
7. Plenty of Outdoors
Let your child be exposed to a lot of natural environments where they can see the flying birds, fluttering leaves on tall trees, colourful flowers, people of all ages engrossed in various activities and a lot more.
8. Avoid Screentime
You may want to introduce your child to some fun content on video platforms, but avoid doing so on any screens like TV, mobile phones or tablets. While it encourages your child to focus on lots of visual stimuli, it is the very focus that will harm their eyesight in the long run.
Sign of Problems With Your Baby’s Vision
When you see your child interacting with their toys and objects around them, you will have a fair idea about their visual abilities. However, there may be times you are worried about their vision and whether their eyes are alright. Here are a few signs to look out for.
- Extremely teary eyes can be a sign of blocked tear ducts. This can be relieved with some simple eye massages or eye drops that your paediatrician might suggest.
- Red Eyelids Can be a symptom of some eye infection that needs to be treated by your paediatrician. Avoid letting your baby rub their eyes if you notice this.
- Constant Eye Movement may signal a lack of ability to focus or weak eye muscles. However, this is a problem only if it persists beyond four months of age.
- Light Sensitivity is normal in babies; however, if it is extreme, you must inform your paediatrician during the regular visits.
- White Pupils, which will show up easily when you take photographs, reflect the inability of your baby’s eyes to refract. This could be a sign of a bigger problem and must be shown to your doctor immediately.
- Lack of focus even after the four-month mark could signal some strain in the eye and call for an eye examination by a doctor.
Always get a doctor’s recommendation before you panic about any signs and symptoms.
All About Eye Exam For Babies
If you notice any of the above in your baby’s eyes or vision, it is best to have your worries put to rest by following up with a doctor. Doctors will check your baby’s eyes upon birth and as part of all the generally scheduled visits along with their vaccinations. However, babies that are born with risk factors should have their first thorough eye exam at 6 months.
If you don’t suspect any risk with your baby’s vision, then all you need to do till the first 3-4 years is to keep your doctor updated about any development or problems you may notice.
Whether a minor issue or a major problem, your child’s visual problems can be tackled and corrected in time if detected at an early stage.
