From the moment they're born, babies are learning how to see. In the first weeks and months of their lives, they learn the fundamentals of vision development, such as hand-eye coordination and color recognition. As parents, it's our job to help them progress in their visual skills by providing them with age-appropriate toys and games and making sure that they have regular eye exams. Let's take a look at how we can help our children develop their visual skills.
Light, Shadow, and Movement in Infancy
Babies aren't born with visual skills; they actually have to learn how to see! At first, an infant sees only light, shadow, and blurry shapes until their eyes become better coordinated. Around month three or four, an infant can focus on objects about eight inches away from his or her face—the perfect distance for gazing into mommy or daddy's eyes! Color vision doesn't begin developing for a few weeks beyond this point. Once it does though, babies won't be able to get enough of those pretty bright colors.
Enormous Visual Progress in Months 6-12
At around month six, hand-eye coordination begins to develop as infants reach out for toys and other objects within their reach. During this stage of development, your baby should be encouraged to explore things close up—like books with interesting pictures—so that he or she can practice focusing on near objects. Babies also become more aware of depth perception during this time frame; they learn what objects look like when they move closer or further away from them.
The Advanced Visual Skills of Toddlerhood
When babies learn to walk (usually around month twelve), they gain even more coordination than before. Now that they can use both hands independently while walking around and picking up toys off the ground without falling over makes the world a lot bigger for them! They also start recognizing familiar faces from far away distances during this period too. This is why it's important for parents to talk about different people in front of their young children so that their little ones recognize those faces later on down the road when meeting them again!
As much as age-appropriate toys and games are important for visual development, eye exams are also essential. Parents should consult with an optometrist about getting regular eye screenings for their child once every year or two starting at age three. This way you can make sure your child has healthy vision as he or she grows older—and you might even catch any potential problems early enough to fix them before any long-term damage is done! With the right care and encouragement your child’s vision will develop correctly and healthily in no time.