As a parent, you probably must be wondering, how does sight develop in newborn babies and how your little one’s ability to see the world around her grows during the first four weeks? So, let’s have a look at the visual development in one month infants during the first four weeks.
There are five aspects of human vision which develop following the birth of your child. It includes: Visual Acuity, Tracking, Colour Perception, Depth Perception, and Object Recognition.
All the five aspects develop over a period of a few months, which is why each week during visual development in one month infants is a milestone by itself.
Visual Development During Week 1
- Since babies are born near-sighted, their central vision isn’t strong as yet. Your little one can therefore only see 8 to 12 inches away (about 30 centimeters or a foot). This is about the distance from her face to your while feeding.
- Objects beyond 2 feet appear blurry.
- She is busy learning to react to external stimuli such as sound, voice, movement and light.
- Doesn’t need vision to root and search for food.
- She will be able to see only black & white.
- Will find it challenging to recognise shades of grey.
Visual Development During Week 2
- It is still too early for both of her eyes to work together in a synchronised manner.
- Can see objects that are 12 to 18 inches away.
- Can notice bright lights and dark shapes.
- May get drawn to bright colours and big shapes.
- Will start making eye contact.
- She is learning to recognise your face.
- Can focus on your smile within a few seconds.
- Is able to gaze a little longer.
- Has to turn her entire head to see things.
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Visual Development During Week 3
- Often directs her gaze towards black and white objects.
- Her eye-hand co-ordination is still developing.
- Can recognise more number of objects.
- Looking at your face gives her the greatest stimulation.
- Her curiosity about her environment is growing by the day.
- Her head is relatively more stable while looking at you.
Visual Development During Week 4
- Can see objects up to 3 feet away.
- Starts focusing on her mom and dad for a longer duration.
- Is still mainly interested in objects closer to her and not as much in the ones that are farther away.
- Tries reaching out to objects and bring them to her face.
- Her attention span with objects is gradually increasing.
By the fourth week, most infants can see 18 to 24 inches in front of them fairly well (1.5 to 2 feet or about an arm’s length). While they may not be able to see as sharp as eagle, they will be getting there soon.
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The pace at which visual development in one month infants happens during the first 3 to 6 months is pretty rapid to say the least. For instance, eyesight develop in newborn babies so fast, that by the end of the 12th week, they can follow moving objects well, spot familiar faces even from a distance, and would’ve developed keen interest for patterns and shapes.
Babies begin to perceive colours better sometime between the between 8th and the 16th week. As there is no set week or month when it happens for all babies universally, the exact timing for when your baby will see colours is completely individual.
And speaking of your little one’s lovely eyes, it’s too early to figure out for sure what colour they’ll end up being. Thanks to nature, a baby’s real eye colour doesn’t usually manifest itself fully until somewhere between 6 and 9 months, and can keep changing until her third birthday.
Disclaimer: The content in this page and across this website are for informational and educational purposes only. In case of any concerns about your child’s growth and development, please contact your professional child healthcare provider.
