Eye Development

In his or her first year, your baby’s brain and eyes will begin to co-ordinate and remember what they’ve seen. As a parent, you can encourage your newborn’s healthy eye development as part of your normal routine. Proper stimulation can increase curiosity, attention span, memory and nervous system development, so be sure to give your baby plenty of interesting things to see.

0 to 4 months

Newborns can only focus on things that are about 20-30cm from their face, and they see only black, white and grey. But by their first week, your baby should begin to respond to movement and should start to focus on your face. Soon, your baby will smile when you come near them. This is an important sign that your baby sees and recognises you – a joyful moment for any parent.

Over the next 10 to 12 weeks, your baby will start to follow moving objects and recognise things – especially toys and mobiles with bold, geometric patterns. Your baby will see the full spectrum of colours by the time they are 3 months of age.

4 to 6 months

Your baby’s depth perception and eye-hand co-ordination will begin to develop at around 4 months of age.

From 4 to 6 months, your baby will begin to reach out and touch objects – something that previously only happened by chance.

8 to 12 months

Between the ages of 8 and 12 months, your baby’s ability to make connections between their eyes, movements and memories will be growing stronger. You should notice tremendous improvements in their attempts to pick up small toys and objects, roll a ball, and feed themselves finger foods like sliced fruit.