How Your Baby Develops Vision

To understand what a newborn baby can see, we need to briefly describe how the eyes focus on near and far objects. When one looks at something, the muscles within the eyes automatically change the shape of the lens so that an image is projected to the retina. This ability to change focus to see near and far objects is known as accommodation, and is like adjusting the lens of a camera to get a sharp image when taking a photograph.

The eyes of newborn babies are actually capable of focusing on objects at any distance. The problem, however, is that they have not yet attained good enough control of their muscles – just like the lens of a camera, the ability to control the muscles for near and far vision is a voluntary action. Before the age of 2 months, there is a great inaccuracy in the power to focus the muscles of the eyes, however after this age, your baby will begin to gain better ability to focus images onto the retina.

Can babies see in color?

The part of the retina responsible for detailed color vision is the fovea. In very young infants, the fovea and other parts of the brain responsible for detailed imagery are immature, so images will remain blurry even if the baby’s ability to focus is intact. Detailed vision is therefore dependent on the ability to focus as well as the development of the necessary muscles.

What can my baby see?

As your baby grows, his vision will grow and develop with him:

The first 4 months
Babies usually see movement before anything else while their visual pathways are maturing. During this time, color vision is not fully developed. Eye co-ordination is also very immature; that’s why a squint or strabismus is sometimes observed in younger babies.

4 to 8 months
By the time your child is between 4 and 6 months of age, he should be able to reach out for objects held in from of him as his depth perception increases. Between 6 and 8 months of age, your child will also begin crawling. Crawling should be encouraged because it helps your child develop eye-hand coordination.

When will by baby start to see color?
Researchers at the University of California have shown that infants as young as 2 weeks of age have color vision and can distinguish between red and green objects. Although they can see color, they cannot distinguish very subtle color differences (like distinguishing between red and reddish-orange).

When will my baby recognize my face?
Researchers at the University of Minnesota found that newborn babies tend to look at the borders of objects, especially high-contrast borders. Therefore, when looking at a human face, a newborn will look at the hairline or edge of the face. By 2 months of age, infants will begin to pay attention to the eyes and mouth, and by 4 to 5 months of age, they can and do recognize your face from all others.

More Baby Stages

You might also be interested in:

Visual Stimulation For Your Baby
How babies benefit from visual stimulation, and how you can provide it.

How Your Baby Develops Hearing

Read our Diary Of A New Mum and discover what happens when Jessica-Ann comes home from the hospital and during her first year at home. This fun read is perfect for new mums and experienced mums alike! New episodes weekly.
Diary Of A New Mum

More about Newborn Babies

Back to AV Baby home

	Don't miss...
	Easter
	Spring
	Earth Day
	St George's Day
	Mother's Day (US)
	Easter Doodle Fun
	Teacher Appreciation Week (US)
	Children's Day (Japan)

Dislaimer
AV Baby content is for information only. If you are at all worried about your baby, please seek the advice of your midwife, doctor or paediatrician.

A Small Publishing Website   Advertise   Contact Us    Privacy Policy  About Us   Disclaimer   Sudoku for Kids

These pages are property of Activity Village and are for personal, classroom and library use only