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How much can your baby really see?

For weeks all a baby can see is black and white shapes. It isn’t until around two months that they see their first color – red – after repeated stimulation from all five senses forces their brains to build connections.

To put it into perspective, eye surgeon Dr Romesh Angunawela of Clinic Compare has developed a series of gifs, showing the transformation from birth to 12 months, shares Daily Mail.

‘The development of sight is complex and a new born baby has to develop the ability to resolve and see the world around them,’ Dr Angunawela explains.

‘The visual cortex of the brain takes up nearly one third of the whole brain and begins to learn to process the flood of visual information it encounters from the moment your baby opens their eyes for the first time.’

Dr Angunawela explains that eyesight is just one of the factors that develop as a baby’s nerves and brain receptors start to fuse.

‘Initially a child’s eyes can seem to wonder due to lack of coordination but this steadies quite quickly and by three months they should be able to discern mummy and daddy’s faces more clearly and fix on them,’ Dr Anugawela says.

‘This may coincide with their first smile as facial muscle coordination also develops pace.’

Before four months, babies can barely see 10 inches away. By the time they are crawling at around nine months, their hand-eye coordination begins to improve and they can purposefully grab things – rather than accidentally reaching for objects.

‘Their range of vision extends as they grow,’ Dr Angunawela says.

‘Their depth perception also increases as the months progress.

‘Vision continues to develop steadily and by two years old a child’s vision is nearly fully developed.

‘This coincides with increased interest and exploration of the world around them.’

Babies’ eyes will naturally develop thanks to the plethora of sensory stimulants around them.

But there are some things you can do to help their brain development along.

Dr Angunawela suggests, wear black-and-white stripes or bright colors as often as you can.

You should also stay within 12 inches of their face in the early months if you are trying to interact with them.

And decorate their room with stripes, such as their bedding, walls or toys.

It is amazing to actually experience vision through a babies eyes. Don’t you think?

Share your comments below.

Shutterstock photo

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  • I was always under the impression that baby’s bedroom is for sleeping, not being over stimulated then expected to go straight to sleep. In the case of some babies A baby’ will move his head/eyes to the direction a voice is coming from by the time they are 2 weeks old. I personally witnessed it and it was not my baby. The family had a huge dining table Iit was the same size as a full size biliard table) and laid their baby in the middle of it on a blanket to change her nappy. It was a freezing cold night and the house wasn’t fully airconditioned at that stage. They had a small heater in the baby’s room but reverse cycle airconditioning in the living area. Each time somebody spoke she would move her head slightly in that direction. I thought I was dreaming for the first five minutes until somebody else commented about it.

    Reply

  • Fascinating – thanks for the insight.

    Reply

  • A very interesting article. I had no idea how blind babies were and for so long. Amazing study

    Reply

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