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Topics on this page include:Normal vision development
Newborns
A newborn's eyes are closed much of the day while it is sleeping. The baby's attention span and the control of its eye movements are not well developed. Newborns are capable of seeing across the room, but generally are more interested in things close to them. As children get older, their visual acuity develops.
One to four months
By one to four months of age, a baby should begin to follow moving objects with its eyes and reach out for things. At first this will occur accidentally, but as hand-eye coordination and depth perception develop, it will become more purposeful.
There are a number of ways a parent can help a baby develop its vision. These include using a nightlight or other dim light in the baby's room, changing the position of the crib often as well as the child's position in the crib, and keeping toys the baby can reach and touch within the baby's focus - eight to ten inches.
Other things that can stimulate your baby's vision are talking to the baby and showing him or her objects as you walk around the room, alternating feeding positions and locations, and hanging mobiles above and outside the crib.
Four to eight months
As babies learn to turn from side to side and use their arms and legs, eye movements and eye/body coordination skills should continue to develop. Their eyes should focus equally.
In order to help the baby develop its visual skills, the parent should expose the baby to different shapes and provide him with different textures to explore with his fingers. In addition, parents should give the baby freedom to crawl and explore, hang objects across the crib, and play "patty cake" and "peek-a-boo" with the baby.
Eight to twelve months
As babies begin to crawl and pull themselves up, they should begin to use their eyes together and judge distances and they should grasp and throw objects with greater accuracy. Parents shouldn't encourage early walking. Crawling is important in developing eye-hand-foot-body coordination.
To help develop visual skills, parents can give the baby stacking and take-apart toys. They should provide the baby with objects they can touch, hold, and see simultaneously.
One to two years
From the first to the second birthday, eye-hand coordination and depth perception will continue to develop. Parents should encourage walking and provide the child with building blocks, simple puzzles, and balls. The child should be allowed to climb and explore, indoors and out.
Preschool years
During the preschool years, the child develops eye-hand-body coordination, fine-motor skills, and the visual motor skills needed to learn to read.
Visual acuity is the smallest letter or object the eye can see. Normal visual acuity is 20/20. Visual acuity of 20/40 (at twenty feet, the person can see what the normal eye can see at forty feet) is good enough to drive a car. If a person has visual acuity of 20/200, he or she is legally blind.
One year old
By one year of age, visual acuity has improved to 20/100. This means the child can see at twenty feet what the normal adult eye can see at one hundred feet.
Two years old
By age two, normal visual acuity in most children has improved to 20/30. The child can see at twenty feet what a normal adult eye can see at thirty feet.
Three years old
By age three, most children have visual acuity of 20/20.
Indications of visual development problems
Indications a child might be having visual development problems include a short attention span for his or her age, difficulty with eye-hand-body coordination in playing ball and riding bikes, and avoidance of detailed activities such as coloring and working puzzles. If a visual problem is suspected, the child should be examined by an ophthalmologist.
Toys and activities to develop good vision
Activities to encourage vision development
Reading aloud to the child and letting him see what you are reading encourages vision development. Other activities that encourage the development of vision include providing the child with chalkboard, finger paints, and different shaped blocks and showing him or her how to use them in imaginative play. Children should also be provided with safe opportunities to use playground equipment such as a jungle gym and balance beam, and should be allowed time to interact with other children as well as to play independently.
Age
Toys
Activities
Birth to five months
Six to eight months
Nine to twelve months
One year old
Two years old
Three to six years old
Seven years and older
Basic vision skills needed for school
To be successful in school, children need certain basic visual skills. These include:
- Near vision - the ability to see clearly and comfortably at ten to thirteen inches.
- Distance vision - the ability to see clearly and comfortably beyond an arm's length.
- Binocular coordination - the ability to use both eyes together in a coordinated manner.
- Eye movement skills - the ability to aim the eyes accurately, move them smoothly across a page, and shift them quickly and accurately from one object to another.
- Focusing skills - the ability to keep both eyes accurately focused at the proper distance to see clearly and change focus quickly.
- Peripheral awareness - awareness of things located to the side while looking straight ahead.
- Eye/hand coordination - the ability to use the eyes and hands together.
Symptoms indicating vision problems
When eye problems are present, children generally exhibit one or more symptoms to indicate they are having difficulty seeing things clearly. If one or more of the following symptoms is present, or persists for more than a few days, the child should see an eye professional.
- Excessive rubbing of the eyes.
- Constantly closing one eye.
- Tearing or unusual light sensitivity.
- Red, itchy or swollen eyes.
- Inability to see things others can see.
- Eyestrain when reading.
- Complains of headaches.
- Wandering or crossed eyes.
- Turns or tilts head to use one eye only.
- Loses their place while reading.
- Uses a finger to keep place while reading.
- Avoids close work.
- Holds reading materials closer than normal.
- Makes frequent reversals when reading or writing.
- Omits or confuses small words when reading.
- Consistently performs below grade potential.
Common eye problems in children
Some eye problems are more common in children than adults. The first of these is impaired vision. Slight impairments of vision may escape detection. Small children naturally hold large toys close and young children generally sit close to the television, so parents may interpret these actions as normal behavior. However, the impairment may become more noticeable when the child reaches school age. The impairment doesn't necessarily become worse; the demands on their eyesight increase - blackboards are farther away and the print in their books is finer so they begin to notice they are having visual problems. The child will need corrective lenses to correct his or her visual impairment.
Another common eye problem found in babies is blocked tear ducts indicated by excessive tearing during the first few months. The tear ducts, which carry excess water from the eyes to the nose, may be closed. They usually open by age one. Doctors may recommend ointments or massage to help open the tear ducts. If the tear ducts don't open by one year, surgery may be recommended to open them. If excessive tearing is combined with light sensitivity, pink eye, enlargement of the eye, clouding of the cornea, or poor visual behavior, the child should see an ophthalmologist. These can be indications of more serious eye problems.
Other eye problems commonly found in children are strabismus and amblyopia. If children hold their heads in a peculiar position, close or cover one eye, or complain of double vision, they should be seen by an ophthalmologist. These are indications of problems that can lead to vision loss unless they are treated.
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