Seeing their world come into focus

Your baby’s blurred vision at birth meant that they will only have been able to focus on objects that were close to them. Now, they will be starting to see more clearly and will begin to look at objects and toys that are hanging close to their face.

Learning from experience

Your baby will learn about the world from experience, using their senses to gain information which they link with information from previous experiences and from their other senses.^[1] As their vision develops, they will be able to see objects more clearly and follow some movement with their eyes – this will give them another way to learn about the world around them.  

Linking up what they see and feel

Your baby will use information from all their senses to understand the world. Now that they can look at objects, they will begin to combine information from what they can see with information from what they feel as they move their arms and legs.  

Gaining awareness of distance through touch

Your baby is beginning to gain more control of their movements and as they move their arms and legs they might sometimes touch toys or objects that are close to them. They will use the information from what they feel and combine this with what they see to develop their awareness of their body and of the distance between themselves and an object.^[2] 

Your baby’s vision and awareness of their body will develop gradually, and lots of time to move their arms and legs and to look at interesting things will support this development. 

As the world becomes even clearer...

Your baby will be increasingly interested in looking at people and objects as the clarity of their vision improves. In the next few months, their developing physical skills will support them to link what they see with what they feel and they will look at objects before putting them into their mouth to explore them. 

They will also begin to develop their understanding of distance as they develop the skills to reach and grasp objects.  

References: 

[1] Sheridan, M., Sharma, A and Cockerill, H. (2014). Mary Sheridan’s from birth to five years. Children’s developmental progress. (4th edn.). Abingdon: Routledge. 

[2] Byrne, E., (2021) How to build a human: What science knows about childhood. London: Souvenir Press.