I did promise this information a couple of weeks ago on a Tuesday, but then I got completely sideswiped with the start of the Spring Mini Session. Sorry about that, and thanks for your email reminders for me to finish! Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog on the right hand side of the page, so you can get new blogs as they come out.
The visual system takes in information from the environment and interprets it. Vision works with other sensory systems and provides the information needed to have accurate motor responses.
When a baby is born, they have all the necessary pieces of the visual system in place, but they haven’t learned to use them yet. An infant’s vision begins to develop at birth, and they spend much of their early months of life learning how to see.
Birth to Four Months
Four to Six Months
Six to Eight Months
By 8 months, babies begin to see more like adults. Near vision is still better than far, but as they can judge distances well, they can see a toy across the room and crawl to it. Color vision is fully developed. They can track objects in all directions, and will look around when they hear a noise. Fear of heights may occur because of their new awareness of vertical space.
Babies can notice which direction your eyes are gazing, and find the object you are looking at. They will also begin to look for a familiar object or person in response to a spoken label. (You say, “Daddy’s home!”, and your little one looks around to try and find Daddy.)
Sometime during this stage, they will begin to react to a new situation based on the expression of your face. (Like when you give a horrified expression as a child reaches for something they shouldn’t have, or when you are totally excited and encouraging when they are about to take their first step.)
Integration of their vision and fine motor skills allow them to grasp and throw objects fairly accurately. This is the age where small, easy to grip balls are a great toy. (Much better than getting bonked in the head will a small hard toy, thrown shockingly well by your little one!)
As they move toward 12 months and official “toddlerhood”, they can hold toys and small object in a “pincer position”, between thumb and forefinger, and even reach behind their back to grab a toy without looking.
Turning pages becomes a total delight to babies at this age. To help with this skill, read board books with your baby on your lap. Hold all but the page to be turned firmly in your hands. At first, your baby will paw the page to flip it, but soon that little pincer grasp will begin to develop.
Between 9 and 12 months, babies begin to understand that objects and people exist, even when they are no longer visible. This is called object permanency, and is often an age of the first separation anxiety. Lift the flap books, pop up toys and games like peek-a-boo are sources of great fun.
Here are some ideas to help stimulate your 9 to 12 month old’s visual development:
• give your baby stacking and take-apart toys
• provide objects that your baby can see, touch and hold all at the same time
• don’t push early walking; crawling is vital in developing eye-hand-foot-body coordination
• provide small easily-gripped balls for throwing Gerties work great, and we carry them ($4.75) at the studio.
• little cereal O’s (I like Barbara’s Organic O’s because they are wheat-free and sweetened with fruit juice) They provide lots of fine motor/eye coordination, and kept my babies entertained in their highchair for a long time while I was making dinner.
• have a nice supply of board books in a basket or container where baby can easily reach them. Here’s some of the favorites at our house: (Favorites meaning some of the ones I’m keeping, even though all three of my own children have grown out of board books.)
Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Touch and Feel books by DK Publishing
Is Your Mama a Llama by Maria Guarino and Stephen Kellogg
Jamberry by Bruce Degen
-posted by Miss Analiisa, who wishes she had known these things when her babies were little.
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