Remember those first couple of days after your baby is born, when you hold him or her close to your chest and gaze lovingly down into their eyes? Did you ever wonder (like I did) what exactly your baby was capable of seeing?
After a little bit of research, and finding some rather conflicting accounts, I managed to come up with a few answers that were relatively consistent among sources.
Newborn babies prefer to look at:
* Things that are moving
* Outer edges and/or contours
* Patterns, particularly those that are slightly complex
* Symmetrical patterns
* Anything resembling the human face
* Patterns involving curves.
Did you know?
· The preference for human faces is quite strong among babies, but the areas of the face they prefer to look at changes with age. For example:
– 1-month-old babies tend to look at the outer edges of the face, like the chin and hairline.
– 2 month olds tend to focus instead on the eyes and the mouth, which is something that helps them develop facial recognition of the common people around them.
· Newborns visual acuity begins at around 20/150 – 10/600 and they do not reach full 20/20 vision until they are between the ages of 6 and 12 months.
Can Babies see in Colour?
The answer to this one I am afraid is pretty unclear, and results of the different studies I have read are at best conflicting, but some commonalities that are generally agreed upon are as follows:
· The photo pigments in the eye that we need for colour vision are usually present in babies at around 3 months.
· Colour vision is fairly mature and in place by around 6 months.
Depth Perception?
Again, there is some disparity in the scientific community regarding the specific age at which researchers believe babies have the ability to perceive depth. Some research suggests this crucial developmental milestone is reached at approximately six months of age, while other studies propose it could occur much earlier, perhaps as early as one month after birth. For instance, a notable study conducted in 1999 by researchers Bornstein and Arterberry suggests that babies don’t independently use pictorial cues—like relative size or overlapping objects—as a way of judging depth until they are around 7 months old. This implies that while some form of depth perception might exist earlier, the cognitive ability to interpret two-dimensional images to understand three-dimensional space develops later.
From what I have read, psychologists generally agree that babies begin to perceive depth around the 3-4 month mark. At this stage, their brains start to fuse the two separate images projected onto each retina into a single, three-dimensional view. This ability, known as binocular vision, is a critical milestone that allows them to start judging distances and seeing the world in 3D, much like adults do.
If you are in South Australia, a good place to go for infant info (if you don’t have ready access to developmental books) is the Child and Youth Health website. They have a handy “developmental milestones” section for different age groups which can give you a rough idea of what to expect at different stages.
However, it is important to note that every baby is unique and may reach these milestones at their own pace. Some babies may develop depth perception earlier or later than others. It is also normal for there to be individual variations in the timeline of development, so don’t worry if your baby seems slightly behind or ahead of the expected milestones.