Your child’s vision actually begins developing during pregnancy. Adequate rest and proper pre-natal nutrition is the best proactive approach to giving your baby the healthiest set of eyes possible. Exposure to toxins from smoking and alcohol and certain medications can have extremely detrimental effects on your child’s eyesight. Understanding the vision milestones of the first year can help you notice if everything is progressing correctly. iSight Optometry in Kelowna is a family friendly eye practice dedicated to your family’s health and well-being.
At First Glance
It is an incredible moment when you initially lock eyes with your newborn for the first time. Soon after the delivery, your baby will undergo a thorough check to ensure that all systems are functioning at their optimal levels. Eyes are briefly examined to ensure that there are no serious ailments such as congenital cataracts or cloudy lenses in place of clear lenses. In rare instances, surgery may be necessary.
Your baby will naturally be sensitive to bright light for the first few weeks and constricted pupils are common. This makes sense considering it is dark in utero and daylight is a foreign concept. Babies are born with peripheral vision and can see to the sides better than directly in front. Newborn eyesight undergoes a tremendous amount of clarity changes and life for the first few weeks may be extremely blurry. Many parenting books recommend keeping your appearance similar during this time to ensure utmost familiarity. You will notice your child begin to focus on you and objects in front of them within the first few weeks. An outline of your baby’s vision timeline is listed below.
General Baby Eyesight Timeline
Newborns: Have better peripheral vision and gradually become able to focus on objects in front of them during first month. Visual acuity is within the 20/400 range. At approximately one week old, baby’s can see red, orange, yellow and green! Since blue light has shorter wave lengths, it takes longer for the baby to see violet and blue hues.
One Month Old: Baby is capable of focusing on objects up to 3 feet away. Bolder colours capture baby’s attention as they can see bright shades more clearly at this stage.
Two Months Old: Baby is capable of following or tracking moving items. Depth perception and visual coordination greatly improves. Arm and hand control has developed enough that they can bat away close moving objects. If the baby does not seem to be coordinating their focus to track objects at this time, it is recommended to contact a paediatrician. Our dedicated team at iSight Optometry in Kelowna reminds you we are always available to help you answer any questions or concerns at any age!
Four Months Old: Distance vision keeps developing. Familiarity and object recognition increases and baby may smile when they see their parents. Colour vision has greatly developed and baby is capable of enjoying patterns and lighter shades along with the initial bold colours they first connected with.
Six Months Old: First Eye Exam
We strive to ensure a welcoming and friendly atmosphere at iSight Optometry in Kelowna. Our devoted team of professionals enjoys making a trip to the Optometrist a positive experience for every family member. We recommend seeing your baby at 6 months of age for a vision check up. Many eye problems are not easy to detect and it is vital to maintain your regular eye exams to ensure your baby is enjoying the healthiest eyesight possible. Visual acuity and development has increased to the range of 20/25 by six months old. Babies of this age are now able to enjoy all colours of the rainbow! There are so many visual milestones that take place during the first year of life. Dr. Gautier, Dr. Kettner and Dr. Westfall, together with everyone at our Harvey Avenue practice look forward to celebrating these vision milestones with you. Book your family’s eye checkups with us today!