INFANT VISION DEVELOPMENT

Infants can see through innate mechanisms. Vision, or understanding what is seen, is a learned process. What your child can see is very different from how well they interpret what they are seeing. Sight and Vision eventually catch up with each other in most cases. This easy to understand guide will help you to help along the visual development of your child.

1st 4 ½ months of development

• Use dim illumination in baby's room, including a night-light
• Change the babies orientation in the crib regularly, providing him/her with new visual stimuli
• Hang a mobile out of reach of the child/ preferably outside of the crib within view
• Make objects visually accessible within 10-14 inches of babies face, but make sure objects can't be swallowed

5-7 months

• Provide objects of different shapes, textures and colors for the child to explore visually
• Provide objects for the child to handle to help develop hand/eye coordination
• Play peek-a-boo and allow your child to explore the immediate environment
• Enable the child to play with older children to learn from their social behavior

9-12 months

• Crawling is important in the child's development; do not encourage walking too early. The child will learn handedness and develop a dominant eye through crawling and exploring activities.
• Increase stimulation through playful activities; allow the child to play with blocks and pull-apart/put-together/push/pull toys.