If you're wondering when can babies see clearly, just like crawling and talking, a baby's eyes gradually develops over time, as does their ability to see colour. Although it's not as obvious a change as when your baby's eye colour changes, as their eyesight gets sharper you'll notice them following objects and learning more about the world around them.
As healthy eyes and good vision will aid their cognitive development, it’s important that you have an idea of what stage they’re at so you can provide them with the best newborn baby toys to help boost their progress.
Lots of new parents are curious about when their little one will start seeing what's around them, so we’ve listed all the eye development milestones to expect in your baby’s first year.
We spoke with optometrist Malcolm Maciver from Leightons Opticians, about your babies eyes.
At what age can babies see clearly?
Like everything else in their early development years, babies also have to learn how to see.
Malcolm said: "A newborn has little to no colour vision and has limited ability to see detail. In comparison to a traditional letter chart, their vision is around double the size of the largest letter on a traditional optical letter chart."
"Vision improves quickly, with colour vision beginning to function around three to four months, before normalising around a year."
Malcom went on to say that: "Eye coordination begins around six months, but is typical normal by one years old too."
"Most babies are slightly long sighted and typically grow out of this over the first 10 to 12 years."
Newborn vision development in the first three months
Your baby will begin to recognise your face within the first few weeks of being born, but won’t be able to see much beyond that. That’s because, at this age, their vision will only be able to see between 8 to 12 inches in front of them.
They’ll be able to see light and recognise large objects, but that’s about it. Around three months after the birth, they’ll be able to follow moving objects with their eyes (but don’t worry if they’re not doing that until a few weeks after the three-month point).
A three-months-old’s light detection is 10 times that of an adult, so keep lights dim during naps and at bedtime. It might be a good idea to invest in a toddler and baby night light. Making subtle changes to the decor of a room will also increase stimuli and help their eyes get the best start.
Baby vision development
Your baby will go through many sight development milestones during the first year of their life. Remember though, each baby is different, so don’t worry too much if it’s a little different to the below.
Baby's vision at 4-6 months old
Your baby should be able to see lots more colours now, and their eyes should be more coordinated, locating and following objects.
This is when your child will start to recognise you and your partner and mirror your facial expressions - meaning you could be seeing their first smile.
Baby's vision at 7-9 months old
At nine months, your baby’s eye colour should have reached the hue it will stay for the rest of their lives, although you might see subtle changes in the next few months. Their vision will have gotten a lot sharper by now and they should be better at judging distances.
Baby's vision at 10 months to one-year-old
At this age, your baby’s hand-to-eye coordination should be developing, meaning they’ll begin to crawl and may even pull themselves up and begin standing. They’ll have improved their ability to judge distance further and will start grabbing for things with their thumb and forefinger.
When do babies see colour?
When they're first born, many babies cannot see any colour, but during the early months, their vision rapidly improves and it is believed that they can see and recognise the full-colour spectrum by the time they reach five months old.
During these early months while their colour vision develops, it's likely they'll engage more with the black and white baby books and toys compared to brightly coloured toys but don't worry – they'll love these in a few months.
As their colour vision begins to develop, they begin by seeing basic colours. After black and white, the first colour babies see is red and later, green.
At around two months old, they begin distinguishing different tones, and you can help encourage this development by showing them different colours and contrasting shades of colours daily.
While there is no set week or month that your baby will begin to see colour, we know it can be anywhere between the two and four-month mark for most babies.
Although you won't truly be able to know what your child is seeing until they can talk with you, there are a few warning signs of colour blindness that you might want to be aware of as your child gets older.
• Using the incorrect words and colours to describe things
• Difficulty distinguishing between red and green
• When colouring, they may use the wrong colours for things such as grass and trees
• Showing a lack of interest in colourful things or colouring books
• Experiencing headaches when looking at red or green dominated images
• Signs of light sensitivity
• Struggling to distinguish colours that are placed close together
If you have any concerns about your child's eye health, you should contact a doctor who will be able to help you work out what the problem could be.
When can babies see clearly?
A lot of babies will have clear vision established at approximately 6 months old, and will see as well as you by the time they are one years old. Their eyes will continue to grow through childhood, and will have fully developed by 2 years old.
Spotting problems with baby's vision
Throughout their younger years, babies will have a number of eye tests to ensure their vision is where it should be. However, it is still important to seek medical advice if there are signs of any problems or if you have any concerns.
Although their hand-eye coordination won’t be perfect when still a baby, their eyesight should be pretty much developed by the age of one, and hand-eye coordination should start seeing improvements. However, if it’s not improved over their first year, this could indicate that there is a problem with their vision.
Another sign is that the eyes do not point in the same direction. Again, this is normal in the first few months whilst their vision is developing, but from around 3-4 months old, their eyes should be aligned.
Other signs to look out for, typically in toddlers and older child include:
• Holding objects, such as a book, very closely
• Sitting close to the TV
• Straining their eyes to enable them to focus
• Suffering from regular headaches
• Rubbing their eyes a lot
When will my baby's eyes be checked?
Your child’s eyes will be checked within 72 hours of being born as part of their newborn physical examination. A follow-up physical takes place at 6-8 weeks old, where you can raise any issues you’re concerned about. After their first birthday, the NHS offer a review of your child’s health and development where eye tests can be arranged if needed.
Best foods for babies' vision development
A healthy diet is essential for children’s health, including their vision. A balanced diet and drinking enough water are essential, however, there are some specific foods that are known for being good at boosting vision. These include:
• Fish
• Leafy green vegetables
• Eggs
• Almonds
• Citrus fruits
Of course, at a young age, these foods won’t be able to be eaten whole, so making purées from these ingredients will help them to eat these eyesight-boosting foods. Once old enough to eat whole foods, including these in their meals will continue to positively affect their eyesight.
FAQ about baby's vision
How do I clean a baby’s eye at home
Keeping your baby's eyes healthy is paramount as their sight is developing. Issues such as conjunctivitis are quite common, but fortunately conjunctivitis treatment is normally a case of simply cleaning the discharge from the eyes safely.
Having discharge in the eye is extremely common in newborns and babies, but ensuring they’re cleaned properly is essential in preventing further problems.
1) Firstly, wash your hands with soap and water.
2) Wet a clean cotton pad with either water or, if you have it, saline solution.
3) Using a new cotton pad for each wipe, gently wipe your baby’s eye from the inside corner to the outside.
4) Once the discharge has been removed, take a clean, dry cotton pad and wipe your baby's eye from the inside corner to the outside.
5) Wash your hands once complete.
It’s good to keep an eye on your baby's eyes as they can be easily infected or irritated. If discharge continuously comes back, or the baby’s eyes begin showing other symptoms such as redness, this may be a sign of conjunctivitis, so be sure to tell a doctor.
Other things to look out for include them not being able to open their eyes, if they’re rubbing or touching them, excessive tearing, their eyes constantly wandering, or their eye looking swollen and sore.
When will my baby have their first eye test?
Malcolm said: "General screening for eyes will happen in the first few months of life by the GP or health visitor, with full eye checks being carried out if an anomaly is identified."
"In terms of eye testing, the NHS covers eye testing for all children under 16, with all optometrists trained to examine eyes for children under two. However, some practices aren't equipped for testing younger children."
When should I see a doctor if I'm worried about my child's eyesight development?
"Given children can't tell you what they experience, it can be difficult to identify when they have issues," Malcolm said, "but if you notice that your child's eyes are not aligned, especially after six months old, speak to your GP."
If your baby has any symptoms including swelling, redness, tearing, crusted eyelids, a white pupil, wandering eyes, or it seems like their eyes are generally irritating them, see a doctor as soon as possible to prevent further problems.
In their younger years, babies will have a number of check-ups on their eyes; they’ll get health and development reviews until they’re two years old. It may also be beneficial to get your child’s eyes checked before they start school, around 4 or 5, to detect any problems early on and prevent them.
Although serious vision problems are rare in childhood, the NHS provides routine eye tests for newborn babies and children to detect any issues early on.
About the expert
Malcolm Macivier is an optometrist at Leightons Opticians.
Stephanie Spencer is the Deputy Digital Editor at Mother&Baby and auntie to four aged 8 to 6 months old. With a particular interest in health, she loves discovering products that make parent’s lives easier.