We want to share moments and the world with our babies, and we want to have an accurate concept of what they can see to know that they can even be aware of what’s going on around them. This post will help you understand what your baby can see at what age, so you can try to see the world through their eyes.
Birth to 3 Months
Babies don’t see very well at birth. They’ve never had to before! The parts of their brain that read visual inputs develop as they use them after they are born.
This means that at birth, a baby’s eyesight is pretty blurry and black and white. They can only hold their gaze for a few seconds, but the period will lengthen to around 10 to 12 seconds by 3 weeks. They will see red and green first, and by the time they are 3 months, they may be able to see blue and yellow too.
They should be able to focus on objects 10-12 inches from their face at birth, which is perfect for seeing you and other loved ones when you’re interacting with the baby. Their focus should strengthen to farther ranges fairly quickly. By two to three months, your baby should be able to fix their eyes on an object and follow it.
Engage your baby and give them plenty to look at, because having visual stimuli is how they learn to see. Buy them high-contrast toys so their eyes can see them more clearly.
Their eyes may cross for the first 8 weeks and wander for up to 4 months. It’s perfectly normal.
4-6 Months
Babies begin to see more colors, almost as well as an adult, by 5 to 6 months. Their range of vision will broaden, their eye-body coordination will strengthen, and their depth perception will develop quickly but not fully.
7-9 Months
During these months, the baby’s eyesight will become sharper and even more colorful. They will be better able to distinguish shapes at this age.
10 Months-Age 6
Babies can see pretty clearly by this age. Their vision has matured to near adult levels, but there is still plenty to learn.
From this point until school age, they will develop greater depth perception, learn to understand what they are seeing and strengthen hand-eye coordination. If your baby was born prematurely or you have a family history of baby vision problems, you should schedule a visit with a pediatric ophthalmologist at around 3-5 years old to be sure everything is developing fine. By the age of 6, a child who will have 20/20 vision, should have it by then.
Schedule a Sleep Consultation with Petite Dreamers
While you’re sharing life with your baby, you hope your baby and your family are getting enough sleep. It’s common for families to struggle with getting their babies to sleep. If that’s you, know that help is available so you can be the alert, excited parent you want to be. Schedule a discovery call with Louise at Petite Dreamers to get started.