What Can my baby see

“What can my baby see?” is one of the most common questions I am asked by parents.

Newborns can see faces and large shapes that are 8-15 inches away. This means when the baby is being held they can see your face. Many people think newborns can not see color but they actually do. They see muted colors. This is why they are so interested in high contrast colors like black, white and red. They are sensitive to bright lights at this age so you may notice that when you enter a bright room your baby tends to keep their eyes closed.

At 2 months old babies can usually follow an object across midline. This means that if you start with an object on the baby’s left and move it slowly all the way to the right they should be able to follow it.

At 3-4 months old they can focus on smaller objects. They start to recognize colors. And they start to recognize faces. So you may notice your baby start to recognize you when you enter a room. At 4-5 months old they start to develop depth perception meaning they can start to see in 3D. They can now see several feet away and they can track faster movements.

At 6 months their eyes should move together regularly. Before this age their eyes may cross briefly or wander. If at 6 month’s old your baby’s eyes are still crossing please see a pediatrician to discuss this. Also see a pediatrician before this age if your baby’s eyes constantly turn in or out. Their color vision continues to improve but is not yet fully developed.

At 9 months old babies can judge distance fairly well. You will notice this more when they start to crawl or when they start to pick up food to feed themselves.

By 1 year old a baby’s vision reaches adult levels.

The other question I am asked frequently is “When will my baby’s eye color stop changing?” Most of the time a baby’s eye color stops changing at 6 months but eye color can continue to change until 1 year old.