A Baby's Eyes
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What Can Babies See?

Baby's First Eye Exam

Warning Signs of Eye
or Vision Problems
Ways to Promote
Vision Development

Seeing, more than any other sense,
guides and shapes your child's behavior
and learning experiences. The following
are some examples of visually
stimulating activities that can assist
with vision development in infants and
toddlers.
Birth to four months
l Use a nightlight or other dim lamp in your baby's room so
he/she has something to look at when waking up.
l If the crib is against a wall, change its position frequently
and your child's position in it.
l Keep reach-and-touch toys within your baby's focus, about
eight to ten inches.
l Talk to your baby as you walk around the room.
l Alternate right and left sides with each feeding.
Five to eight months
l Hang a mobile, crib gym or various objects across the crib for
the baby to grab, pull and kick.
l Give the baby plenty of time to play and explore on the floor.
l Provide plastic or wooden blocks that can be held in the hands.
l Play patty cake and other games, moving the baby's hands
through the motions while saying the words aloud.
l Provide colorful toys that make noises and objects of
different textures, sizes and weights with which to play.
Nine to twelve months
l Play hide and seek games with toys or your face to help
your baby develop visual memory.
l Name objects when talking to encourage your baby's word
association and vocabulary development skills.
l Encourage crawling and creeping.
l Read aloud from books that have large pictures.
l Help develop hand-eye coordination by giving your
child stacking and snap-together toys with which to play.
One to two years
l Roll a ball back and forth to help your child follow objects with
his/her eyes.
l Give the child building blocks and balls of all shapes and sizes to
play with to boost fine motor skills and small muscle development.
l Read or tell stories to stimulate your child's ability to visualize and
pave the way for learning and reading skills.
l Give your child objects he or she can push or pull.
l Have your child practice catching a balloon.
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Key to both visual and overall development is active participation by
the child. Children learn better, when they directly participate in
activities rather than just passively watch. And parents involvement in
playtime activities can help further enhance the learning experience.
Mind-Shapes
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Three easy-to-grab toys provide vibrant
shapes and sounds that encourage
babies to look, touch and listen.
Amazing Babies:
Essential Movement for
Your Baby in the First Year
This book promotes babies' freedom
of movement, active participation in
social interaction and self-motivated
learning through play.
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Crib mobiles introduce your baby to
simple shapes, sounds and movement.
Mobiles encourage visual focusing and
eye tracking skills.
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