How your baby’s eyes work.

HOW YOUR BABYS EYES WORK FROM BIRTH TO 12 MONTHS 

What does my baby see? This is a very common question for parents. This article describes what your baby sees from birth to 1 year of age, and how you can stimulate your baby’s vision. 

Birth to 1 Month of Age

At birth your baby:

When babies are born, their vision is not entirely developed. Sees in black and white and in shades of gray.

Is not very light-sensitive.

Has eyes that are large compared to their body.

Has eyes that are about 65% of their adult size.

One week after birth, your baby will start to slowly develop color vision. Babies are all nearsighted, so their world is very near to them. Babies. They can also see about 8 10 10 inches away. At 6 weeks of age, a baby can see about 12 inches away.most visual development occurs during the first six months. We consider these first six months a critical period because it is challenging to make corrections after early visual development occurs.

2 Months to 3 Months

Your baby should:

Follow objects with their eyes. This is called tracking.

Recognize your face.

Start reaching for things.

Remember what they see.

For the first 2 months of life, an infant’s eyes do not work well together and may cross or wander. This usually goes away. If it continues, or if an eye is always turned in or out, talk to your baby’s doctor or health care provider. Scientists now believe babies only see in black and white for the first three months. Between two and four months of age, the cones in the eyes develop and grow longer, starting to perceive different colors. At first, they can tell red and green apart, and then a few weeks later, they can also tell apart yellows and blues. The colors need to be bold, though. That is why so many black, white, and red toys are on the market for newborns. 

4 Months

Your baby’s vision is clear, and now they can see farther away. They still prefer looking at you up closely. At this age, an infant uses both eyes (binocular vision) and is working on their depth perception. Encourage play time by reaching for bright objects and toys.  Newborn babies have no depth perception, but it develops very rapidly around four months, within a two-week period. This is important to know because if a baby has an eye disease or visual delay, depth perception cannot develop appropriately within that crucial two-week window.

6 Months

Your baby’s eyes should be working together all the time. They can see colors like adults do. Play peek-a-boo and use mirrors to help develop vision.

The color of your baby’s eyes may change during the first 6 months. Many babies are born with blue eyes. Over time, dark pigment is made, which makes their eyes darker. Usually, the color does not change much after 6 months of age. 

 

7 to 12 Months

Your baby is now moving around more. They are better at judging distances and grabbing objects. Babies are learning how their vision works when their body moves.This is because babies are close to the floor where all their toys are and the proximity and movement stimulate their eyes. The other reason that is the most fascinating is that the left side of our brain controls our body’s right side and vice versa, the two sides of our brain need to learn to communicate and work together for us to have coordinated movements. As babies crawl and use their entire body reciprocally, the corpus callosum, or the part of the brain that connects the two sides, is very stimulated.

This stimulation strengthens the corpus callosum, building the connections between the two sides of the brain. Since both sides of the brain need to work together to perceive what your baby sees, crawling enhances visual skills and helps build a foundation for good lifelong vision and reading skills.

When to Call the Doctor

All infants should have regular checkups with their doctor or health care provider so they can screen for problems.

Babies that are born early (premature) are at high risk for vision problems. All premature infants should be seen by a pediatric eye doctor (ophthalmologist) by 1 to 2 years of age.

Call your baby’s doctor or health care provider if:

Their eyes do not work together and/or are not properly aligned in all directions.

Their pupils are different sizes.

They are not tracking items with their eye. They are staring at lights.

Their eyes have a lot of tearing or crusting.

They turn or tilt their head to one side to view objects.

They close one eye most of the time.

They are very sensitive to light.\\You are concerned about your baby’s eyes or vision.

If your baby’s regular doctor or health care provider is concerned about their eye health or visual development, they can recommend a pediatric ophthalmologist.

If there are any problems with your baby’s vision, it’s better to find them early. The earlier problems are found, the sooner they can be taken care of.