Blog
What Can Your Baby See?
Your Baby Can See This Sharp: There are quite a few myths about what a baby can see. Many people believe that all babies are color blind or can barely see. This is not true. After taking the first leap (@ 5 weeks, the leap of changing sensations), your baby can see pretty well. But, in order to understand how the world looks different to your baby after this leap, I'll first explain how he saw things before.
A baby born without eye diseases is born with a working pair of eyes. Everything works, but that does not mean that those eyes can also see and transmit what he sees - and how he sees everything - to the brain as the eyes of an adult would.
A newborn baby can not yet accommodate or focus the eyes at any distance. He can only see clearly as far of about 20-30 cm. He sees the rest, yes, but it is all very blurry. After taking the leap of sensations, however, he can focus on a greater distance. Even up to 75 cm! His "sharp visual world" becomes about three times as large.
Imagine if this happened to you... Imagine if you could see everything so clearly that it was three times as sharp. While riding your bike, every blade of grass you passed and those on the horizon was so sharp it could cut. That would be bizarre, wouldn't it? Think about how it would impact you. Would it affect your sense of balance? Would you lose your sense of proporation and distance? As an adult, you can think about those changes and reflect on them. But a baby can't. He's having a very difficult time with these types of changes.
So What Can You Do? Help your baby explore his new world through sight. He will look at objects that interest him for longer, and the brighter the colors, the more fascinating! He will also like striped and angular objects. And, of course, looking at you.
As you and your baby walk around, you'll discover what he likes best. Give him the time to have a good look at things and don't forget that his range of focus is only about a foot long. Some babies like looking at the same things over and over again, while others get bored if they are not shown something different each time. If you notice that your baby is getting bored, show him objects that are similar to the ones he likes, but slightly different.
- Log in to add favorite
- Share
About the Author
Frans Plooij, Ph.D is the author of the international bestseller The Wonder Weeks and one of the world’s top specialists in infant/child development and parent-baby interactions. His book, based on 35 years of extensive research, describes in easy-to-understand terms the incredible developmental changes that all babies go through during their first 20 months of life. Following Dr. Plooij’s advice and insight in the babies changing brain, parents all around the world have been better prepared (often within a week or two) for the often drastic behavior that marks a new change in their baby’s development, the new skills that emerge with each leap and how to get the most out of these wonder weeks. (www.thewonderweeks.com).
