{"id":11755,"date":"2021-05-30T06:07:29","date_gmt":"2021-05-30T06:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?page_id=11755"},"modified":"2021-07-15T07:07:37","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T07:07:37","slug":"vision-problems-and-babies-part-2-qa","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/guide-to-visual-development\/babies-and-vision-problems\/vision-problems-and-babies-part-2-qa\/","title":{"rendered":"Vision Problems and Babies: Part 2 Q&#038;A"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Eye exams are essential for babies to ensure normal visual development and to confirm there are no vision problems that might affect school performance.<\/h2>\n<p>Here are commonly asked questions of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\">eye doctors<\/a> related to babies and their vision.<\/p>\n<h3><b>#1 How often should babies and children have their eyes checked?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>All babies should have their first eye exam at 6 months of age, even if no visual problems are suspected.<\/p>\n<p>During an eye exam, the eye doctor will check your baby&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/guide-to-vision-development\/\">visual development<\/a> and for any visual problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, eye movement ability and eye alignment.<\/p>\n<p>If no problems are detected, and your child\u2019s eyes continue to be healthy, your optometrist will let you know when to schedule their next eye exam.<\/p>\n<p>If you suspect your child has an eye condition, <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>contact an eye doctor<\/b><\/a>\u00a0near you, who can diagnose and treat the condition.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SEE RELATED: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/guide-to-visual-development\/your-babys-vision-development\/\">Your Baby\u2019s Vision Development<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t<div class=\"practice-search-widget\">\n\t\t<h3>Find an eye doctor for children near you<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t<form class=\"practice-search-form practice-search-form-widget\" action=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/results\/\" method=\"get\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page\" class=\"practice-search-page\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_latitude\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_longitude\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"address\" class=\"practice-search-address\" placeholder=\"City, Surburb or Address\" value=\"\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t<button type=\"submit\" class=\"practice-search-button\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M10.6796 0.130005C9.15708 0.130059 7.66615 0.5646 6.38198 1.38258C5.09781 2.20057 4.07373 3.36803 3.43004 4.74783C2.78634 6.12763 2.54976 7.66246 2.74808 9.17205C2.9464 10.6816 3.57139 12.1033 4.54964 13.27L0.729639 17.08C0.6364 17.1732 0.562439 17.2839 0.511979 17.4058C0.461519 17.5276 0.435547 17.6581 0.435547 17.79C0.435547 17.9219 0.461519 18.0524 0.511979 18.1743C0.562439 18.2961 0.6364 18.4068 0.729639 18.5C0.917942 18.6883 1.17334 18.7941 1.43964 18.7941C1.5715 18.7941 1.70207 18.7681 1.82389 18.7177C1.94571 18.6672 2.0564 18.5932 2.14964 18.5L5.99964 14.62C7.35406 15.6038 8.98566 16.1324 10.6596 16.13C12.7814 16.13 14.8162 15.2871 16.3165 13.7869C17.8168 12.2866 18.6596 10.2517 18.6596 8.13C18.6596 6.00827 17.8168 3.97344 16.3165 2.47315C14.8162 0.97286 12.7814 0.130005 10.6596 0.130005H10.6796ZM10.6796 14.13C9.49295 14.13 8.33291 13.7781 7.34622 13.1188C6.35952 12.4595 5.59049 11.5225 5.13636 10.4261C4.68224 9.32975 4.56342 8.12335 4.79493 6.95946C5.02644 5.79558 5.59788 4.72648 6.437 3.88736C7.27611 3.04825 8.34521 2.4768 9.5091 2.24529C10.673 2.01378 11.8794 2.1326 12.9757 2.58673C14.0721 3.04085 15.0092 3.80989 15.6685 4.79658C16.3277 5.78328 16.6796 6.94332 16.6796 8.13C16.6796 9.7213 16.0475 11.2474 14.9223 12.3726C13.7971 13.4979 12.2709 14.13 10.6796 14.13Z\" fill=\"#fff\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"practice-search-use-my-location\">\n\t\t\tSearch near me\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\n\t<\/form>\n\n\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<h3><b>#2 What are the most common vision problems in babies and toddlers?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>The most common vision problems in babies and toddlers are refractive errors (farsightedness, nearsightedness, astigmatism), amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (eye turn), genetic eye diseases, congenital abnormalities, pediatric ptosis and nystagmus.<\/p>\n<h3><b>#3 How does an eye doctor test for a refractive error?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>When testing for a refractive error the eye doctor may use lenses and light from a small hand-held instrument to assess how the eye responds to particular targets.<\/p>\n<p>The doctor may also repeat this test after dilating the eyes to enlarge the pupil and stabilize the baby&#8217;s focusing.<\/p>\n<p>Infants typically have some degree of nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism not requiring correction.<\/p>\n<p>Studies show that up to 50 percent of infants under 12 months have significant astigmatism, long-sightedness or lazy eyes<b>.<\/b><\/p>\n<h3><b>#4 What can a baby see?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>While babies have poor vision at birth, they can see faces at close range.<\/p>\n<p>At about six weeks a baby\u2019s eyes should be able to follow objects, and by four months the eyes should work together.<\/p>\n<p>Over the first year or two, a baby\u2019s vision develops rapidly. A two-year-old typically has\u00a0 20\/30 vision, nearly the same as an adult.<\/p>\n<h3><b>#5 As a parent, what can I do to help with my baby\u2019s visual development?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>There are many things a parent can do. The following are a few examples of age-appropriate activities that can help with an infant&#8217;s visual development.<\/p>\n<p><b>From birth to 4 months<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Keep reach-and-touch toys within your baby&#8217;s focus (about 8 to 12 inches from your baby)<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Use a dim lamp or nightlight in your baby&#8217;s room<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Alternate left and right sides with each feeding<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Talk to your baby as you walk around the room<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>From 5 to 8 months<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Give your baby plenty of time to play on the floor<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Hang a mobile or place various objects across the crib for the baby to grab, pull and kick<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Play patty cake and other games that involve moving the baby&#8217;s hands through the motions while saying the words aloud<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Provide soft blocks that they can hold with their hands<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>From 9 to 12 months<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Encourage crawling and creeping<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Play hide-and-seek games with toys or peek-a-boo to help the baby develop visual memory<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As a baby\u2019s eyes are constantly changing, it\u2019s important to get their eyes checked to ensure they are reaching their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/guide-to-vision-development\/\">visual milestones.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>LEARN MORE:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/guide-to-visual-development\/\">Guide to Visual Development<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\"><b>Schedule an eye exam<\/b><\/a> with an eye doctor near you who can assess your child\u2019s eye health and diagnose any problems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eye exams are essential for babies to ensure normal visual development and to confirm there are no vision problems that might affect school performance. Here<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11752,"parent":11751,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-article.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[95,153,358,149,539],"class_list":["post-11755","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-childrens-vision","tag-school","tag-vision-development","tag-vision-skills","tag-visual-milestones"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Vision Problems and Babies: Part 2 Q&amp;A - Optometrists.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/guide-to-visual-development\/babies-and-vision-problems\/vision-problems-and-babies-part-2-qa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vision Problems and Babies: Part 2 Q&amp;A - Optometrists.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Eye exams are essential for babies to ensure normal visual development and to confirm there are no vision problems that might affect school performance. 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