{"id":17826,"date":"2021-10-06T13:32:27","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T13:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?page_id=17826"},"modified":"2022-01-05T07:13:46","modified_gmt":"2022-01-05T07:13:46","slug":"healthy-eyes-for-life-babies-and-toddlers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/healthy-eyes-for-life-8-ideas-to-teach-children\/healthy-eyes-for-life-babies-and-toddlers\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthy Eyes for Life: Babies and Toddlers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know? Newborns can really only see in shades of grey, and only start to fully see color by 5 months of age.<\/b><\/h2>\n

Most people are aware that babies don’t have perfect 20\/20 eyesight when they are born. However, as a new parent, you may not know what to expect in terms of when your baby’s vision will improve and when they should undergo an eye exam.<\/p>\n

Baby\u2019s first eye exam<\/b><\/h2>\n

Healthy babies with no serious vision problems should have their eyes checked by their pediatrician when they are newborns.<\/p>\n

During your child’s regular visits, your pediatrician will most likely check your baby’s eyes again. The purpose of these eye exams is to discover any problems early and limit the risk of vision loss, which can occur if a disorder or abnormality goes misdiagnosed or untreated.<\/p>\n

Infant visual development<\/b><\/h2>\n

Birth to 3 months:<\/b><\/p>\n

A newborn baby is born nearsighted. The baby should be able to see an object or your face from a distance of 8 to 10 inches.<\/p>\n

If one eye appears to be constantly turning in or out<\/a>, an eye exam is necessary.<\/b><\/p>\n

The eyes begin to operate together during the first few months of life, and eyesight improves quickly.\u00a0 When a newborn starts following moving objects and people with their eyes and reaching for them, eye-hand coordination<\/a> begins to develop.<\/p>\n

By eight weeks, newborns may fix their gaze on the faces of their parents or other people nearby. It is common for an infant’s eyes to not fully be synced – they may appear to wander or be crossed.<\/p>\n

By around three months of age, babies should begin to follow moving objects with their gaze and reach for them.<\/p>\n

4 to 6 months:<\/b><\/p>\n

Between 4 and 6 months your baby will use their vision to interact more with the world.\u00a0 For example, they may be fascinated by looking at themselves in a mirror or picking up toys.<\/p>\n

Babies’ neck control will improve as well, allowing them to swivel their heads to gaze at objects.<\/p>\n

Control of eye movements and eye-body coordination skills continue to grow during these months.<\/b><\/p>\n

Depth perception, which is absent at birth, will start to develop around the fifth month, when the baby\u2019s two eyes begin to function together as a team to produce a three-dimensional image.<\/p>\n

In addition to depth perception, it\u2019s believed that babies have good color vision when they are five months old.<\/p>\n

7 to 9 months:<\/b><\/p>\n

Your child may progress from merely looking at themselves in a mirror to touching the image they see in the mirror.<\/p>\n

During this time, your child should make significant progress in depth perception and hand-eye coordination.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Both will come into play around 8 months of age, when babies often start crawling and pulling themselves up.<\/p>\n

If your baby’s eyes were lighter in color at birth, you may notice that they darken over the first 6 to 12 months when melanin forms in their iris.<\/p>\n

A child’s eye color can change for up to three years, but this is uncommon. By the age of nine months, a baby’s eye color is usually set.<\/p>\n

SEE RELATED:<\/strong> Guide to Pediatric Eye Conditions<\/a><\/p>\n

Schedule an eye exam for your child, with an eye doctor near you<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\t

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