How Your Baby's Sight Develops from the Womb to One Year
A baby's vision goes through incredible changes in the first year of life. From the moment they are in the womb to their first birthday, their ability to see and interact with the world takes shape in stages. Here’s a look at how this fascinating process unfolds—and how you can support it.
Vision Begins in the Womb
At around 30 weeks in the womb, babies start detecting light that shines through in to the womb.
During Pregnancy eating foods rich in beta-carotene, which is found in yellow, orange, and leafy green fruit and vegetables, supports the development of your baby’s eyes.
Newborn Vision: Sensitivity to Light and Nearsightedness
When babies are born, they are extremely sensitive to light. Their vision is still developing, and the centre of their field of view remains blurry. Interestingly, newborns can see better out of the corners of their eyes, as their peripheral vision is more developed at this stage.
In the early weeks, babies are nearsighted. They can only see objects about 8 to 10 inches away, which is roughly the distance from their face to yours when you’re feeding them. At this point, patterns of light and dark or bright colours will begin to catch their attention, but pastel or neutral colours remain hard for them to distinguish.
Early Months: Tracking Objects and Recognising Faces
By 2 to 3 months, your baby will start recognising familiar faces, especially yours! They will also begin to follow moving objects, this is a major milestone, as their eyes are beginning to work together more effectively, although you might still notice their eyes occasionally crossing. This is usually normal but consult your healthcare provider if it seems persistent or you are worried.
Supporting Vision Development: Oscar the Octopus
Introducing toys like Oscar the Octopus, with his bright, contrasting colours, can be a fun and effective way to help babies develop their vision. Babies are more attracted to bright colours and bold patterns because neutral and pastel shades are harder for them to see. Oscar, with his vibrant red, black, white and rainbow underside, helps stimulate a baby's visual senses. As baby interacts with him they improve their depth perception and hand-eye coordination.
5 Months: Depth Perception and Improved Colour Vision
At around 5 months, babies’ depth perception starts improving. They can now gauge how far away an object is, which means they’ll begin reaching for brightly coloured toys or objects more accurately. Their colour vision also improves, allowing them to distinguish a wider range of colours beyond just high contrast shades.
Crawling and Hand-Eye Coordination
As babies begin to crawl, their hand-eye coordination takes a big leap forward. Moving around gives them valuable experience with distance and motion, helping to fine-tune their ability to see the world in three dimensions. By 10 months, many babies develop the coordination to pick up objects with their thumb and forefinger, a clear sign their depth perception has matured.
How You Can Help Your Baby’s Vision Develop
There are plenty of ways you can support your baby’s visual development, starting from pregnancy:
- During Pregnancy: Eating foods rich in beta-carotene—found in yellow, orange, and leafy green fruit and vegetables—supports the development of your baby’s eyes.
- After Birth: Use contrasting patterns and brightly coloured toys to catch your baby’s attention. Mirrors are also a great tool, allowing babies to recognise their face and features as they grow.
- Encourage Reaching: Place toys just out of reach to encourage your baby to reach out. This simple action helps improve depth perception as they learn how far away objects are.
- Move objects: Moving objects in front of baby will capture their attention but also encourage their eyes to work together to track the object.
If your baby was born prematurely, their visual development may follow a slightly different timeline. It’s best to track their development starting from their original due date rather than their birth date, as their visual system may need extra time to catch up.
From the womb to their first birthday, your baby’s vision undergoes remarkable growth. By offering the right stimuli, like brightly coloured toys and encouraging movements, you can help your baby’s eyes develop and sharpen their ability to see and interact with the world. Toys like Oscar the Octopus are not just fun—they’re also tools to support your baby’s visual journey!