Developmental milestones: Sight

Written for BabyCenter India

Printable version Send to a friend Sight When it develops How it develops What's next Your role When to be concerned

Sight
nless she has a vision i!pair!ent" your baby can see fro! birth# $s she grows" she'll use her eyes to ta%e in !assive a!ounts of infor!ation about the world around her" which in turn will sti!ulate her brain develop!ent and lead to physical acco!plish!ents such as sitting" rolling over" crawling" and wal%ing#

When it develops
$dvertise!ent

&ver her first few !onths your baby's sight will sharpen" until at about six to eight !onths she'll see the world al!ost as well as an adult does#

How it develops
Your baby's sight develops so!ewhat gradually" unli%e her hearing" which is fully !ature by the end of her first !onth# $t birth" her vision is pretty fu''y" though she can !a%e out light" shapes" and !ove!ent# She can see only about eight to () inches * +, to -,#) centi!etres . /ust far enough to clearly !a%e out the face of the person holding her# 0hat suits her because your face is the !ost interesting thing to your baby at this age" followed by high.contrast ite!s such as blac% and white chessboard patterns" so be sure to put in a lot of eye.to.eye ti!e# Your baby's sight will gradually i!prove" until at about eight !onths she'll see /ust as well as you do# One month $t birth your baby didn't %now how to use her eyes together" so they !ay have wandered rando!ly# But by the ti!e she's one or two !onths old she'll have learned to focus both eyes and will be able to trac% a !oving ob/ect 1though she !ay already have been able to do this for brief periods since birth2# $ si!ple rattle passed in front of her face will often transfix her" or you can play eyes.to. eyes by !oving very close to her face and slowly !oving your head fro! side to side3 often her baby blues will loc% onto yours# Two months Babies see colour fro! birth" but they have difficulty distinguishing si!ilar tones such as red and orange# $s a result they often prefer blac% and white or high. contrast colours# But between the ages of two !onths and four !onths" colour differences beco!e clearer" and your baby starts to distinguish between si!ilar shades# $s a result" she'll probably begin to show a preference for bright pri!ary colours and !ore detailed and co!plicated designs and shapes# 4ncourage this by letting her loo% at bright pictures" photos" boo%s" and toys# 5or the next couple of !onths" she'll also be perfecting her ob/ect.trac%ing s%ills# Four months So!eti!e around now your baby will begin to develop depth perception which helps her to see how far away so!ething is fro! her# She'll also be gaining better control over her ar!s" so this new visual develop!ent co!es at /ust the right

ti!e to help her grab for things such as hair and earrings !uch !ore accurately# Five months $t this point your baby will be getting better at spotting very s!all ob/ects and trac%ing !oving things# She !ay even be able to recognise an ob/ect after seeing only part of it . the basis of little hide.and.see% ga!es you can play in the co!ing !onths# 6ost five.!onth.olds have already learned to distinguish between si!ilar bold colours" and now they'll begin to sort out subtle differences in pastels# Eight months Your baby's vision . previously about +,*7, at best . will be al!ost adultli%e in its clarity and depth perception at this point# 0hough her short.range will still be better than her long.range sight" at eight !onths her vision will be good enough to recognise people and ob/ects across a roo!# $t this age her eyes will also probably be close to their final colour" though you !ay see subtle changes after that#

What's next
Your baby's eyesight is fully developed when she's still very young" but it's i!portant to have it chec%ed regularly so you can nip any possible proble!s in the bud# 6a%e sure your child's doctor or health visitor chec%s her vision at every regularly scheduled chec%up#

Your role
Studies show that babies prefer hu!an faces to all other patterns or colours" so %eep your face close to hers 1especially when she's a newborn2 so she can study your features# $t about one !onth" al!ost anything you pass in front of your baby's face is li%ely to transfix her# 0he shops are pac%ed with develop!ental toys" but you'll do /ust as well with everyday household ob/ects# 6ove shiny foil or a bright plastic ladle fro! side to side in front of her# 0hen try !oving it up and down# 0his should attract her attention" though !ost babies probably won't be able to s!oothly follow vertical !otion until three or four !onths later# $s !entioned above" encourage your baby's interest in pri!ary colours and pastels as she gets older# So!e great eye.catchers include pri!ary.coloured !obiles" 1hung out of reach2" bright posters" and visually stri%ing board boo%s#

When to be on erned
Babies should be screened for vision proble!s regularly . starting at birth and continuing at every chec%up# 6ost eye deficiencies can be corrected if they're spotted early enough3 the older your child gets" the harder it will be to fix any proble!s# You probably won't be able to detect conditions such as nearsightedness" farsightedness" and astig!atis! 1an uneven curvature of the cornea and*or lens2 on your own" but %eep an eye out for bigger difficulties# If your child can't focus on or trac% an ob/ect 1or your face2 with both eyes by the ti!e she's three or four !onths old" tell her doctor# Pre!ature babies are at a greater ris% for developing certain eye proble!s" including astig!atis!" !yopia" and strabis!us 1eye !isalign!ent2" so their parents and doctors should pay special attention to their sight# Infor! your health visitor if8 9 Your baby has trouble !oving one or both of her eyes in all directions 9 Your baby's eyes are crossed !ost of the ti!e 9 &ne or both of your baby's eyes tend to turn out#