|
Ages 4 to 7 Months: Vision
As
your baby works on her important motor skills, have you noticed how
closely she watches everything she's doing? The concentration with
which she reaches for a toy may remind you of a scientist engrossed in
research. It's obvious that her good vision is playing a key role in
her early motor and cognitive development. Conveniently, her eyes
become fully functional just when she needs them most.
Although your baby was able to see at birth, her total visual ability
has taken months to develop fully. Only now can she distinguish subtle
shades of reds, blues and yellows. Don't be surprised if you notice
that she prefers red or blue to other colors; these seem to be
favorites among many infants this age. Most babies also like
increasingly complex patterns and shapes as they get older, something
to keep in mind when you're shopping for picture books or posters for
your child's nursery.
By 4 months, your baby's range of vision has increased to several feet
or more, and it will continue to expand until, at about 7 months, her
eyesight will be more mature. At the same time, she'll learn to follow
faster and faster movements with her eyes. In the early months, when
you rolled a ball across the room, she couldn't coordinate her eyes
well enough to track it, but now she'll easily follow the path of
moving objects. As her hand-to-eye coordination improves, she'll be
able to grab these objects as well.
In general, your child's visual awareness should clearly increase
during these four months. Watch how she responds as you introduce her
to new shapes, colors and objects. If she doesn't seem to be
interested in looking at new things, or if one or both eyes turn in or
out, inform your pediatrician.
Stimulating Vision
A
mobile hung over the crib or in front of the infant seat is an ideal
way to stimulate a young baby's vision. However, by about 5 months
your baby will quickly get bored and search for other things to watch.
Also by this age, she may be sitting up and might pull down or tangle
herself in a mobile. For this reason, mobiles should be removed from
cribs or playpens as soon as your baby is able to pull or hold herself
upright.
Still another way to hold your baby's visual interest is to keep her
moving around your home, down the block, to the store or out on
special excursions. Help her find things to look at that she's never
seen before, and name each one out loud for her.
A mirror is another source of endless fascination for babies this age.
The reflected image is constantly changing, and even more important,
it responds directly to your child's own movements. This is her clue
that the person in the mirror is actually herself. It may take your
baby a while to come to this realization, but it probably will
register during this period.
Excerpted from Caring for Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5, Bantam
1999
© Copyright 2000 American Academy of Pediatrics
 |
