What can babies see at 6 weeks

Infant Vision Birth to One Year

What does my baby see? This is a very common question for parents. This Helping Hand will describe what your baby sees from birth to one year of age, and how you can help your baby’s vision develop.

Birth to One Month of Age

At birth your baby sees only in black and white, and shades of gray. Nerve cells in the brain and retina of the eye are not fully developed. They also have trouble focusing, and are not very light-sensitive yet. Infants’ eyes are large compared to their bodies. When a baby is born, his or her eyes are about 65% of their adult size. One week after birth the baby can see colors and can see about 8-10 inches away. At six weeks of age baby can see about 12 inches away.

You can help your infant’s vision by holding and feeding him or her on each side, left and right (Picture 1). Place your baby in the crib facing different ways to see different views. Put up a mobile so your baby can watch it.

Two Months to Three Months

Your baby should be following objects or “tracking” and should start reaching for things.   The baby recognizes your face, and remembers what he or she sees.

You can help your baby’s vision by using a mobile, or holding up bright objects in front of her for the baby to reach for. Your face is one of her favorite things to look at.

For the first two months of life an infant’s eyes are not well coordinated, and may cross or wander. This will usually go away, but if it continues, or if an eye is constantly turned in or out, the baby should be seen by a doctor.

Four Months

Vision is clear, and your baby can now see farther away. He or she still prefers looking at you close up and should be awake often. Encourage play time, and reaching for bright objects and toys.

Six Months

Your baby’s eyes should be working together all the time. Your baby sees colors like adults do. Play peek-a-boo, and use mirrors to help develop vision.

Seven Months to Twelve Months

Your baby is now moving around more. He or she is better at judging distances and more accurate at grasping objects. Babies are learning to coordinate their vision with their body movements. The color of the eyes may change. Many babies are born with blue eyes. Over time dark pigment is produced which can make the baby’s eyes darker.

You can help your baby’s vision by talking to him or her a lot. Place objects in front of the baby and say the name of the object as you hand it to him or her. Encourage your baby to crawl or walk to toys (Picture 2).

When to Call the Doctor

All infants should have regular checkups with their doctor, who can screen for problems.

Premature infants are at high risk for vision issues. All premature infants should be seen by a pediatric ophthalmologist by age 3.

If you see any of the following, call your baby’s doctor:

• Eyes that do not work together
• Eyes that have a lot of tearing or crusting
• Baby turns or tilts head to one side or closes one eye most of the time.
• Anytime you are concerned about your baby’s eyes or vision, or if the baby’s regular doctor is concerned

If there are any problems with your baby’s vision, it is much better to find them early. The earlier problems are found, the earlier they can be taken care of.

Additional information

American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (Aapos.org)

Preventblindness.org

American Academy of Pediatrics (www.aap.org)

Infant Vison Birth to One Year (PDF)

HH-IV-108             07/14, Revised 6/19 | Copyright 2014, Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Week 6 | Your 6 week old baby

Six weeks old - Growth spurts, check-ups and perhaps even a smile.

Here’s what to expect in the sixth week of your lives together.

At a glance

• It's time for the 'six-week check'
• Keep an eye out for baby's first proper smile
• You'll notice they want to be fed more often

Your baby's development at six weeks old

Keep your eye out now for your baby’s first true, proper smile. You’ll know when it’s the real thing and not trapped wind because of the way it lights up their whole face – and, of course, yours. It’s not only a wonderful and memorable moment you’ll treasure even when they’re grumpy teenagers, but it’s also a sign that their development is on track. It shows they’re communicating and engaging with you.

However, don’t panic if it doesn’t happen this week or even next. Some perfectly well-adjusted and happy babies don’t smile until seven or eight weeks. Anything up to 12 weeks is within the normal range.

By week 6 it’s likely they will be able to distinguish you from strangers and you can expect a lot of gurgling and grunty noises when they see your face up close.

It’s a good idea to keep playing with your little one during these early weeks. They’ll love having skin-to-skin contact and tickles. They’ll also now be better at focusing on any toys and will be fascinated by brightly coloured mobiles or toys.

You’ll be heading for you and your baby’s six-week check soon – it’s usually carried out between six and eight weeks.

Some GP surgeries do not routinely offer a postnatal check so make sure you request and appointment for a check if you have any concerns. Often mum's postnatal check is done at the same time as her baby's 6 to 8 week check. 

You may also receive a support visit from your health visitor 6-8 weeks after the birth.  Health visitors are specially trained nurses who support and educate families from pregnancy through to a child's 5th birthday. They are especially helpful at focussing on maternal mental health and listening to you talk about how you are feeling with no judgement. They may also ask for your consent to let your GP know how you are feeling so that both professionals can work together to support you,

Get ready for growth at 6 weeks old

Between now and eight weeks your baby will probably have their first big growth spurt. You’ll notice they want to be fed more often, they might be restless during sleep and/or want to sleep more. If you’re breastfeeding, offer them the breast more often so your milk supply has a chance to catch up to the new level. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you are obviously not producing enough milk because your baby is restless or hunger-crying more often: hang in there, feed often and your supply will increase in a day or so.

It will probably soon be time to crack open a new size of babygros: if the newborn-size ones are looking stretched at the feet it’s definitely time for a change. It’s not good for their foot and leg development to be stuck in clothes that don’t fit.

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Article | How babies see

The way a baby sees the world around him depends on his parents. It is in your power to teach a child in his first months to look at life with "wide eyes".

Of the five senses that a person has, vision plays a leading role in his development. We receive most of the information about the world around us through our eyes. The visual system is laid down even in the prenatal period, but it is actively formed and "ripens" already after birth, in the first year of a baby's life. At this time, it is especially important to pay attention to the development of vision, since it is directly related to the development of the brain.

It is known that the efficiency of the brain is determined not by the number of neurons, but by the number of connections (synapses) between them. In the first year of a person's life, these connections are formed at an incredible rate. And the more visual information a child receives, the more actively the development of various structures of his brain will go.

Any visual impairment in infancy often causes a significant lag in the development of the child, since the rest of the senses are not able to fully compensate for the lack of information.

Picture of the world

The very first visual images that a person perceives are faces. “We recognize the “nose-mouth” facial pattern innately - this is a species-specific signal,” says Vyacheslav Dubynin, Doctor of Biological Sciences, specialist in brain physiology. “Moreover, we now know that it’s not just the face pattern that is recognized, but the main facial expressions: grief, fear, rage, smile. The ancient Greek masks of tragedy and comedy, the emoticon - this innately affects our secondary visual cortex, it is innately significant. That is why it is so important for us and is also directly connected with the centers of positive and negative emotions.”

The main stimuli for the development of the baby's visual system are the faces of mom and dad. If so, communicate and talk with the child at any opportunity, as often as possible, "show yourself in front of him."

Seize the moment

The organs of vision of a newborn are already formed, but the work of the entire visual system will be "tuned" during the first six months of life. The kid needs to learn to fix his gaze, move both eyes at the same time (this is called “friendly movement”), determine the depth of space and establish a connection between vision and touch.

At this time, the eyeball enlarges, connections are formed with the parts of the brain responsible for receiving and processing visual information. From the point of view of psychophysiology, this period is a critical phase in the formation of the visual system. Moreover, the very act of “looking” serves as a stimulus for the development of vision. That is, the more images are projected onto the retina, the better the eye develops.

Black and white cinema

We have the ability to recognize colors from birth, but the newborn does not yet know how to use it. But he perceives well and looks at contrasting black-and-white images with clear contours with pleasure. You can make such pictures yourself and conduct "classes" with your baby with their help.

As a result of such exercises, the child will acquire two important skills in the first months of life: he will learn to fix an object and follow it with his eyes.

For classes, you can put the baby on any surface (changing table, crib, large bed), but so that the light source (window or lamp) is behind his head.

0–2 months

Newborn limited field of view — 30 degrees left and right, 10 degrees up and down, depth — no more than 90 cm from the face. Show your child images based on this data. Contrasting black and white patterns attract the attention of the baby, because during this period the rods (cells in the retina of the eye that distinguish between weak light, black and white colors) are better developed than cones (cells responsible for perceiving colors).

For the first lessons, you will need pictures with simple geometric shapes, checkers (like a chessboard), stripes, straight and broken lines.

Already at the age of 10 days, the baby is able to keep a moving object in the field of vision, and at 3 weeks old it can fixate on a stationary object and on the face of an adult who is talking to him.

By the end of the first month, he tries to follow a slowly moving black and white object or his mother's face at a distance of 20–30 cm.

To practice fixation : show your baby black and white drawings. They can also be attached to the sides of the crib.

Gradually replace simple pictures with more complex ones. So the baby will learn to focus his eyes. Among the pictures you can place black and white photos of mom and dad.

If you have attached a mobile above the crib, you can replace the colorful hanging toys with black and white ones for now.

For tracking exercise : show the picture to the baby at a distance of 30 cm from the eyes. After the child notices it and fixes their eyes on it, slowly start moving the picture to the right, then to the left. The second exercise: bring the drawing closer to the baby and remove it again (from 20 to 100 cm).

3 months

The baby can already clearly focus on the object, but it is still difficult for him to smoothly and continuously follow him if he moves in an arc. Tracking objects in a circle can be trained using a mobile, removing all toys from it, except for one.

At this age, the baby is already truly happy and smiles at the sight of something familiar. He follows with pleasure the face of an adult or an object moving in all directions, studies his hands with interest.

The baby still does not feel the volume of objects, so often he cannot grasp the object he is reaching for. This happens because the baby's world is still two-dimensional.

Binocular vision will develop later, and then the baby will learn to appreciate the depth of space.

Now you can place pictures in all the places where you can carry the baby in your arms. The baby is already able to visually focus while in an upright position.

4 months

Now the child may like more complex drawings, with curved and curved lines and shapes. The kid remembers what he saw, follows the moving object well.

During this period, the formation of color perception occurs, because the cones in the retina begin to work more actively. At first, the baby is able to perceive red and yellow colors, a little later - green and blue. The main thing is that the color is bright. Pastel shades, which parents usually prefer, will not impress the child.

To fix the color, show the baby alternately with an interval of 30 seconds two pictures, first with the same image, but different colors, and then vice versa - the same color, but with different patterns.

Take a white sheet and a picture. First, show the baby a picture at a distance of 30–50 cm. He must fix it. Then cover half of the image with a white sheet. After 30 seconds, show the entire drawing again. In the next exercise, cover the entire picture with a white sheet.

Now take two different pictures and a white sheet. Fold them like a deck: the first picture - a white sheet - the second picture. Show them in turn, making sure that the baby fixes the image. You will see how surprised he is when he sees another drawing after the white sheet!

At the age of 4 months, the child is able to predict events. He used to keep screaming from hunger until he grabs a nipple or gets a bottle. Now, when he sees his mother, he can either shut up or start screaming even louder. The child establishes a connection between visual impressions and consciousness.

5–6 months

By this age, the images transmitted from both eyes begin to connect, and thus binocular (stereoscopic) vision develops. Now the child is able to visually perceive the depth of space. The kid focuses well on both near and distant objects. Six-month-old babies are very fond of looking at more complex images, ornate ornaments and patterns. This is a great training for the visual system - in such pictures there is a certain rhythm, symmetrical and asymmetric areas, orderliness and structure.

Show your child two different pictures at the same time so that he can look at one and then the other.

Make a kind of screen out of a white sheet. Hold it in one hand. Take a picture or a toy in your other hand. Show it to your child, let him fix his eyes on her. Move the picture (toy) so that at some point it disappears behind the screen, and then appears on the other side.

The child should develop an understanding that an object that has disappeared from the field of vision does not cease to exist and continues to move. When the baby has mastered this skill, he will look to the place of the future appearance of the picture from behind the sheet.

Everything is good in moderation

Moderation and pleasure are the main things in activities with a baby. Both mother and baby should be in a good mood. Play with your child when he is happy, calm, not hungry or tired. You should not get carried away only with visual reactions and orientation. For harmonious development, it is important to use all the organs of perception: hearing, touch, smell, taste. And remember that the main stimulus for the development of the visual system is the smile on the mother’s face.

Sources:

PostNauka portal

Family website 7ya.ru

Photo: Unsplash; blog "Katerina Taberko's Bookcase"

The vision of a newborn child

Newborn children see in a completely different way than adults. FROM as the child grows, his visual system also develops, for the final it takes about 8 months to form.

Eyes the child is able to see immediately after birth, but his brain, which processes and forms visual images until it is able to correctly decrypt information. The child grows, his brain develops, and at the same time and visual abilities. How does this happen?

1 month. At that age the child's eyes cannot move in concert. The pupils often converge on bridge of the nose, but parents should not panic that this is strabismus. Already to at the end of 1 month of life, the baby learns to fix his gaze on the interesting object.

2 months. Starts actively develop color vision. Shades are faintly distinguishable, but good perceived contrasting colors. Children of this age love bright toys and keep a good eye on them.

4 months. Appears spatial perception, the child begins to understand that objects have different shapes and can be located at different distances from it. Coordination the movements of the newborn are being improved, now he can easily pick up, subject of interest to him.

5 months. Improving color perception, the child is able to see the difference in shades, even in small sized items.

8 months. Visual the abilities of a toddler of this age are indistinguishable from those of an adult person. By 8 months, as a rule, the final color of the rainbow is also formed. shells of the eyes, however, this process can be delayed up to 3 years.

Parents are advised to be attentive to visual abilities of your child and, in case of developmental disabilities, show him ophthalmologist. What to focus on:

· At 3-4 months, the baby is not able to follow the eyes behind moving objects.