What Can My Baby See?

What can your baby see as a newborn and onwards

When your baby is born they don’t have perfect vision, it takes a while for them to adjust to the world and see things the same way that we do. We take a look at what your baby can see as a newborn and onwards.

Newborns

As a newborn, your baby’s vision is quite fuzzy. They will be able to make out lights, shapes and movements but can’t usually see things much further away than 8-15 cm. This means that they should be able to clearly see the face of the person holding them.

At this early stage, faces and high-contrast items are the most interesting to babies - so lots of face-to-face time is very important.

1-4 months old

Once your baby has reached one or two months old they should start to be able to focus both eyes on a moving object. This can sometimes happen at a younger age. You may notice that they start to be transfixed by objects such as a rattle in front of them.

Between two and four months they will be able to start to be able to differentiate between primary colours and similar colours such as red and orange. They will enjoy bright toys and picture books - so these are encouraged to promote learning.

5 months onwards

From around five months old, your baby will start being able to see smaller objects and pastel colours. At eight months of age they will start recognising people and objects in the distance.

Usually it is recommended for you to take your baby to see an optometrist for an eye exam at the age of six months. However, if you think your child has a vision problem call your Toowoomba optometrist for an earlier eye exam.