Sight! Your baby’s sense of sight isn’t fully developed when they’re born. At first, they can’t focus more than 8 to 12 inches away. But their sight gradually develops, and your baby will likely see almost as well as you do by the time they’re 8 months old. You can encourage your baby’s vision development by showing them toys and books with patterns and bright colors. Their doctor will check your baby’s eyes at routine visits, but if you notice something that doesn’t seem quite right, be sure to mention it.
IN THIS ARTICLE
- When baby vision develops
- How baby vision develops
- How to encourage your baby’s vision development
- When to be concerned about your baby’s vision
When baby vision develops
From the day your baby’s born, their eyes contribute to their physical, mental, and emotional development. Vision allows your baby to take in information – a little bit at first, and eventually much more – about the world around them.
Unlike a baby’s hearing, which is almost fully mature by the end of their first month outside the womb, the sense of sight develops gradually. By about 8 months old, your baby will see the world almost as well as you do.
While your newborn’s eyes are physically capable of seeing just fine at birth, their brain isn’t ready to process all that visual information, so things stay fuzzy for a while.
Your newborn can see bright colors at birth and will be able to tell the difference between colors (especially red and green) by the time they’re 3 to 4 months old.
As their brain develops, so does their ability to see clearly, giving them the tools they need to understand and manage their environment. Though your baby starts out life being able to see only as far as your face when you hold them, their range of clarity grows steadily, month by month.
How baby vision develops
At first your baby can’t focus farther than 8 to 12 inches away – just far enough to make out the face of the person holding them. They can detect light, shapes, and movement, but it’s all pretty blurry. Appropriately enough, your face is the most fascinating thing to your baby at this age (followed by high-contrast patterns such as a checkerboard), so be sure to give them plenty of up-close time.
1 month old
At birth, your baby didn’t know how to use their eyes in tandem, so their eyes may have wandered randomly or even crossed now and then. This month or next, they’ll be able to consistently focus both eyes and track a moving object. A rattle passed in front of their face will often transfix them as they explore this newfound ability. They may also enjoy playing eyes-to-eyes with you: With your face very close to them, move your head slowly from side to side, with your eyes and their eyes locked.
2 months old
Your baby could see bright colors from birth, but they had difficulty distinguishing similar tones, such as red and orange. That’s one reason they preferred black-and-white or high-contrast patterns. For the next few months, their brain will be at work learning to distinguish colors.
3 months old
Your baby is now starting to perfect their ability to follow moving objects with their eyes. They’ll attempt to reach and eventually grab things. They’re also getting better at telling the difference between colors. As a result, they’ll probably begin to show a preference for bright, primary colors and more detailed and complicated designs. Encourage this development by showing your baby pictures, photos, books, and brightly-colored toys.
4 months old
Your baby’s beginning to develop depth perception. Until now, it was tough for them to locate an object’s position, size, and shape, then get a message from their brain to their hand to reach out and grasp it.
At 4 months, they have both the motor development to handle the task and the maturity in their brain circuitry to coordinate all the moves needed to accomplish it. You can help them practice by offering easy-to-grasp toys like rattles (otherwise they’ll go for your easy-to-grasp hair, glasses, or earrings).
If your baby can’t track an object as it moves across their field of vision or make steady eye contact with you by 4 months old, let their doctor know.
5 months old
Your baby is getting better at spotting very small items and tracking moving objects. They may even be able to recognize something after seeing only part of it. This is evidence of their budding understanding of object permanence (knowing that things exist even when they can’t see them at the moment), which is why they love to play peekaboo. They can probably distinguish between similar bold colors and will start working on more subtle differences in pastels.
8 months old
Your baby’s vision – between 20/200 and 20/400 at birth – is almost adult in its clarity and depth perception at this point. Though their attention is more focused on objects that are close by, their vision is strong enough to recognize people and objects across the room.
How to encourage your baby’s vision development
Make sure the doctor takes a look at your child’s eyes at every regularly scheduled well-baby visit and well-child visit. The doctor will check the structure and alignment of your child’s eyes and their ability to move them correctly and look for signs of congenital eye conditions or other problems.
Be sure to let your baby’s doctor know if either you or your partner has a strong family history of serious eye problems – particularly problems that surfaced in childhood.
Once your child is 3 or 4, the doctor can examine how well your child can see (their visual acuity), using charts with pictures or letters. For more on what to expect when the doctor checks your child’s eyes, see our article on eye exams for kids. If the doctor detects any problems, or if your child’s family has a strong history of eye problems, they may refer you to a pediatric ophthalmologist. It’s important to diagnose and treat eye problems early on because some are difficult or impossible to correct later.
Studies show that babies prefer human faces to all other patterns and images, so let your baby study your face by keeping it close to theirs (especially when they’re a newborn). At about 1 month, almost anything you pass in front of your baby’s face is likely to fascinate them. The stores are packed with developmental toys, but you can do just as well with simple toys and everyday household objects.
Move a rattle or something bright from side to side in front of your baby’s face. Then try moving it up and down. This should attract their attention, although most babies won’t be able to smoothly follow vertical motion until they’re 3 or 4 months old. Also take note of other things that interest your child visually – the ceiling fan, birds or fluttering leaves in the yard, or the neighborhood children jumping rope.
Encourage your baby’s interest in primary colors and pastels as they get older. Some great eye-catchers include primary-colored mobiles (hung out of reach), colorful posters (put one near their changing table), and visually striking board books.
When to be concerned about your baby’s vision
Their doctor will check your baby’s eyes at routine visits, but if you notice something that doesn’t seem quite right, be sure to mention it. For example:
- Your baby doesn’t track an object (like your face or a rattle) with both eyes, can’t make steady eye contact, or doesn’t seem to be able to see by the time they’re 3 or 4 months old.
- Your baby has trouble moving either or both of their eyes in all directions.
- Your baby’s eyes jiggle and can’t hold still.
- Your baby’s eyes are crossed most of the time, or one or both of your baby’s eyes tend to turn in or out. (This is normal for the first few days of your baby’s life, but tell the doctor if it lasts longer than that.)
- One of your baby’s pupils appears white or grayish white.
- Your baby’s eyes seem sensitive to light and persistently drain or water.
- Your baby’s eyelid or eyelids are drooping.
- One or both eyes have pus, or a crust which may be the result of a blocked tear duct. (This is quite common and you can ask your doctor to show you how to massage the duct to unblock it.)
If your baby was born prematurely – especially if they were very premature, had an infection, or needed treatment with oxygen – they’re at greater risk for developing certain eye problems, including astigmatism (blurred vision), myopia (nearsightedness), retinopathy of prematurity (abnormal blood vessel growth that can lead to blindness), and strabismus (eye misalignment). Your baby’s doctor will take their premature status into account when evaluating their eyes and making any necessary referrals.
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