How To Stimulate Your Baby’s Vision

Doctors agree that sight is the least developed sense we have right from the womb. This is because a newborn’s retina is not yet fully mature. In adults, the retina helps us distinguish brightness and colors. We want our children to have the same thrill of sunsets and rainbows that we experience. Helping your baby acquire this same ability is where a parent’s work begins. Also read: Sittercity reviews: find your perfect sitter

Providing your child with the right kind of visual input during the first several months of their life will assist in cultivating their sense of sight. It is a good idea to look at it this way. You are helping construct pathways between your child’s eyes and brain. The more you input, the more pathways the child’s brain will make. Each time you input data or good stimuli, the more nerve cells multiply, and the more likely this sense is to become highly developed. The visual part of your child’s brain will grow exponentially when compared to the time you spend working with them. Now, that sounds like a terrific return on your investment!

Step 1: Colors
No, your child will not be able to distinguish red from blue, but we are going to work up to that point. The best thing to do is introduce your child to the world around them with high contrast colors. Do this with alternating patterns of stripes, wavy lines, checkerboards, sunbursts, or combinations of patterns. The greater the color contrast, the more stimulus the brain is receiving and the faster the visual part of the brain will mature. Therefore, the most obvious choice is black and white designs.

All new mothers want to put some sort of pastel in a baby’s nursery, but this means nothing to a newborn’s sight, nor does it stimulate them to notice their surroundings. As boring as it might sound, simple black and white stripes are a great start. After the first couple of months, you can then begin to add primary colors.

Step 2: Shapes
It is always good to start with the two dimensional basics first. Though your baby will not be able to tell you which ones are squares or triangles, exposing them to linear arrangements and curves will be very helpful later on. As they progress, you can move on to more complex, three dimensional figures. This will enable them to develop better spatial recognition as they mature.

Step 3: Animations
Eye tracking in healthy infants should begin within the first few months. You can help them by starting simple. Side to side or up and down slow movements of your face or their favorite toy will help them gain control over their eyes. Once they seem to have mastered the easy stuff, go ahead and introduce circular, zigzag, and other complex motions. Again, be sure not to move the object too quickly, or this will frustrate the child and cause them to lose interest. If for any reason, your child does not track movement after the first couple of months, consult your pediatrician. Also read: Promo code for Sittercity offers great savings

Yes, your baby is learning from zero to three months! Pediatricians and childcare experts agree that the average infant can only only focus between eight and ten inches from their face. For many of these exercises, it is recommended that you place the baby in a carrier or car seat. This will limit bodily movement and make them use their eyes during this critical window of learning.