Parents frequently ask what their baby is able to see at a particular age.  Your baby's visual abilities develop as he/she grows and develops.  You will be surprised how much your baby is able to see.  Below is a list of visual developments during your baby's first year.

 

Newborn:		• He can blink his eyes if a light is shined in his eyes.
		• He will stare at walls, windows, and lights.
		• He can see objects best at between 6-8 inches from his eyes.
1 Month:		• She likes to look at pictures of faces and will concentrate on the outside of your face - chin, ears, and hair.
		• She will protect herself if something is brought too close to her face.  She will open her eyes when you hold her over your shoulder.
2 Months:		• He will look at your eyes, mouth, and nose more.
		• He smiles when he catches your eyes.
		• He prefers to look at large patterns such as checkerboards squares, designs with geometric shapes, pictures of animals (butterfly).
		• He prefers dark colors (black, blue, red, green) with light backgrounds.
		• Any moving object will catch his attention.
		• He shows interest in staring at his hands.
3 Months:		• She can recognize familar objects and stay interested for longer periods of time.
		• She can recognize her bottle and will lift her arms up.
		• She will get excited when she recognizes familiar objects.
		• She has no depth perception, therefore she will have no fear of heights - Be careful.
4-6 Months:		• He enjoys looking in a mirror-he will have a definite reaction on seeing himself in the mirror.  He may kiss, touch, or make faces at the mirror.  He may even look around the back of the mirror.
		• If you cover an object, he will lose interest in it.  When it reappears, he will be surprised.  Once out of sight, to him, it is gone forever.
		• He can focus on objects that are brought from several feet away to 6 inches.  As objects get closer to him, his eyes will move closer together to focus and it may appear as if he is cross-eyed.
6-9 Months:		• She is interested in small objects, like crumbs or small objects on the carpet.  Be careful- she will make a good scavenger.
		• She will begin to show a fear of heights - her depth perception is beginning to develop.  She is still inconsistent in her fear-she may still crawl over a ledge or fall down steps.  Be careful!
		• She can keep an interest in an object even after it is covered over and she will lift a cloth off to find a toy.
9-12 Months:		• He will look for objects which have fallen out of his playpen or crib.
		• He will show interest in others that are playing near him.
		• New objects will interrupt his crawling.
		• He likes to look at pictures in books.

 

32