Baby's Vision Development - Timelines And What to Expect

It is an amazing feeling to cuddle your baby in your arms. Being a new mom, you must wonder what your baby can see. Whether they can see your face properly or you are just another blurry object for them. The answer is that their vision develops gradually from hazy to clear with their development. There are many stages to a baby’s vision development, and each stage happens gradually.

What is Vision Development in Babies?

Vision development is the phase of the improvement of the eyesight in babies. When a baby is born, like all other body organs, their eyes also get exposed to the external environment and start adjusting. Gradually their vision starts getting clear. Initially, they cannot see colors or identify the colors of objects. All are hazy for them. After a month, they see the world differently as their vision improves. When they reach one year of age, their vision develops like that of an adult.

When Does Newborn Vision Start Developing?

Babies can see everything from birth itself, but the vision at this time is not clear and everything appears to be blurry. Gradually with the development of other organs, their eyesight increases, and they can start seeing a thing clearly, differentiate various colors, identify things separately, and more.

Initially, after birth, high-contrast colors attract babies very much. But they cannot distinguish the colors, or their brain cannot process the critical aspects. Within a few weeks, you can see a great development in the vision of your baby. When your baby turns three months and more, they can distinguish primary colors like green, red, and blue and respond to these colors. His newborn eyesight starts at 20/400, which improves to 20/20 when they are three to five years old.

Baby’s Vision Development After Birth – Milestones

We can segregate the vision development in some timely stage, say month-wise. Let’s have a look.

Birth to First Few Weeks (0 to 2 Weeks)

At the initial stage of birth, your baby can see everything hazy and in black and white or grey. But at this point, they cannot move their eyeballs properly.
Their nerve cells are not developed to transfer the vision statement to the brain properly. They also cannot focus properly and are not very sensitive to light.
They can see colors and things eight to ten inches far in a week. At this stage, change the sides during feeding. This will help them use both eyes equally and is important for the vision development in both eyes.

First to Three Months (1 to 3 Months)

Your baby is able to differentiate colors and they can also focus. They can move their eyeballs with the movement of any objects in front of their eyes. When your baby turns three months old, he is capable of learning tracking skills.
With the development of nerve cells, your baby can understand the difference between the near or far objects and respond to them.

Four to Six Months (4 to 6 Months)

By the time your baby turns six months, their vision is getting better and stronger.
With more color sense, now the world is more colorful to them.
They can learn and remember objects and familiar faces.
They will smile and move head, legs, and arms to express happiness with their facial expression.
By this time, your baby will use both eyes together to perceive objects better.
To help them develop their vision, use mirrors and play with them.

Seven to Nine Months (7 to 9 Months)

You can see a significant improvement in their hand and eye coordination as they turn nine months old.
At this point, they will be more interested in pictures and more colorful objects.
They can identify partially hidden materials and move to grab them.
By this time, they can crawl fast and learn more about the distance and how to reach there.

Ten to Twelve Months (10 to 12 Months)

When your baby turns one year old, they. more or less, have the vision of an adult.

Their eye color at this stage remains the same lifelong. Usually, babies start to stand and walk at this age and try to grab objects by their hand and forefinger. They can judge nearer and further items clearly and make efforts to reach there.

[Read : What Will My Baby’s Eye Color Be?]

Signs of Any Problems With Your Baby’s Vision Development

Usually, babies are born with normal and healthy eyes. But in some cases, there are chances when the baby may have some vision problem. In such cases, you must check with a doctor.

Here are some of the signs for when you should consult an eye specialist.

Excessive Tearing: This indicates that your baby may have a blocked tear duct.
Red Eyelids: In case of an eye infection, the baby’s eyelids become red.
High Sensitivity to Light: If you notice that your baby closes his eye whenever there is light, see him to a doctor.
White Pupils: If you observe that your baby has a white spot in his pupils, immediately check with a doctor. It may be a sign of a severe problem.
Turning Eyes Continuously: It may signal an eye muscle problem.

[Read : Blocked Tear Duct In Newborns]

Top Tips to Help Improve Baby’s Vision Development

From birth to one or two years of age, you can do a lot to improve your baby’s vision. As a parent, you can use the below-mentioned tips.

Up to 4 Months

Do not expose the child to bright light. Use a night lamp or dim light in the baby’s room.
Change the feeding position frequently to help them use both the eyes properly.
Keep bright toys within their reach, around eight to twelve inches.
Make eye contact and talk to them.

Up to 8 Months

Hang different types of toys to the crib so that the baby tries to grab them.
Let them explore the floor with their hands and legs. Allow them to crawl.
Give them objects to grab. It will help them to coordinate with the eyes and limbs.
Play hide and seek games to stimulate their vision.

Up to 12 Months

Give them toys they can grab by their forefingers and palm.
Play hide and seek.
Make faces to help them to recognize and remember objects.
Encourage them to crawl and stand.
Let them play with other children. This will help them imitate the elder’s activities and learn new skills.

Vision is an important part of human life, and usually, babies do not have any vision issues with a few exceptions. With their natural development, their vision also grows, and till they turn one or three to five years, they can see like adults. But as a parent, you can use some tips and techniques to help them develop the skills right and fast.

[Read : When Do Babies Start Grabbing Objects?]

FAQ’s

1. Do Babies See in Black And White?

During the first week of birth, babies cannot identify colors and see things only in black and white.

2. When Do Babies Know Colors?

After a few weeks of birth, at around the 2nd to 4th month mark, babies get better at perceiving colors and respond to bright colors like red, green, and blue.

Baby’s Vision Development – Timelines And What to Expect

What is Vision Development in Babies?

When Does Newborn Vision Start Developing?