At what age can an infant normally start tracking objects with his or her eyes and recognize familiar faces?
A child’s vision is a complex combination of the brain, the eyes and the vast array of nerves that connect them. At birth, this visual system is still immature and continues to develop throughout the child’s early years. Clear vision is an integral part of a child’s healthy development. Healthy eyes and good vision are
vital components that enable successful achievement of many important milestones. Learning “how to see” and being able to interpret visual information to understand what is going on in the environment, are both crucial factors in successfully reaching the development of the visual system. These developmental milestones begin in the infancy stage and are dependent on the strength of the visual skills. Visual skills, such as binocular vision, accurate eye movements, and the ability to change
focus to see near and distant objects, are necessary for observing, imitating, learning, playing, and more. Vision development begins in the womb and continues throughout childhood and adolescence. The development of a mature visual system is especially critical within the first six years of life. The first six years of life is considered the “vulnerable period” because it is a time when the child’s development is most vulnerable to the effects of the various threats to their eye health and vision. Any change in vision or ocular health can inhibit a child from developing the necessary visual skills, and cause developmental delays. Vision milestones according to ageThe following is a timeline of some of the key visual age-based milestones, to provide a basic guideline for parents to know what to expect throughout their child’s development. It is important to remember that each child is unique and may reach certain milestones at different ages. Please note, this is ONLY a guideline, and should not be used to replace the consultation of an eye care professional. Birth to 1 month
1 to 2 months
2 to 3 months
4 to 5 months
5 to 7 months
7 to 12 months
12 to 18 months (1 to 1.5 years)
18 to 24 months (1.5 to 2 years)
24 to 36 months (2 to 3 years)
36 to 48 months (preschool)
48 to 72 months (school)
If you have any concerns about your child’s development, find an eye doctor near you that can examine your child. SEE RELATED: Your Baby’s Vision Development Find an eye doctor for children near youWhen should a child have an eye exam?An infant’s eyes are examined by the neonatal pediatrician soon after birth to rule out any of the common postpartum eye diseases such as cataracts, infantile glaucoma and eye tumors. The recommended schedule of eye exams for children includes:
Young children may not report if they feel that something is wrong— simply because they don’t realize that something is wrong! Schedule an eye exam as the sooner a vision problem is detected, the sooner it can be diagnosed and treated— resulting in increased positive outcomes. A parent’s role in vision developmentParents play a vital role in their child’s healthy development of vision. It is therefore important for parents to:
If you think your child may not be responding to their environment appropriately, or you notice that your child is not reaching an important developmental milestone, schedule an eye exam to rule out any vision problems. LEARN MORE: Guide to Visual Development If an issue with the development of their visual system is detected, try not to worry— your eye doctor will advise you on the most appropriate treatment plan for your child, to facilitate the best possible way to help them achieve their visual developmental milestones. At what age can an infant normally start tracking objects?Babies should begin to follow moving objects with their eyes and reach for things at around three months of age.
At what age do most infants first display self recognition?The mark should be inconspicuous to the infant not looking in a mirror. In general, studies agree that this response appears in some infants around 15 months of age and is shown by a majority of infants by 24 months of age.
At what age is an infant able to follow the movement of objects and begin to smile?At 2 months of age, babies begin to be able to follow a toy or other object when it is moved in front of their face. At 3 to 4 months, babies can focus on an object or your smiling face from 1 m (1.1 yd) to 2 m (2.2 yd) away and begin to see a full range of colours.
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