Looking, pausing and reaching – your baby’s brain and vision

Your baby’s vision is becoming clearer. They will be more able to focus on objects, although they will still focus best on objects that are close to them. The development of vision is linked to clarity (seeing clearly), but it is also linked to the processing of what they see, as neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett says: "We see with our brain, not our eyes."^[1]

Reaching out for objects

As your baby’s physical skills develop, they will move more purposefully when they see something that interests them. They might stop moving when they see something of interest or move their arm towards the object. It will take lots of practice to move accurately to reach and grasp an object, but you might notice small changes in your baby’s movement before they can reach accurately.

Your baby is learning to understand the world

Looking at and touching objects helps your baby to learn about the world. They will develop and strengthen connections in their brain as they bring together information from their senses to understand the objects they see and touch.

Simply giving your baby time to look at objects and pausing before helping, perhaps by moving an object closer or handing it to your baby, will support them to make and strengthen these connections.

Reference:

[1] Feldman Barrett, L. (2020). Seven and a half lessons about the brain. Picador.