Patient’s Guide to Infant Vision Care
As a parent, the best thing that you can do for your children is to teach them about good health practices. The habits that are formed early in life will carry forward into adulthood. So, you need to consider regular checkups and education opportunities to help your child learn more about caring for their health.
At Village Eyecare, we are here to provide the eye care that is needed for the entire family. Here is a quick overview to help you know the right visual cues and care that your child needs during the first few years of their life:
Visual Development from Birth to 24 Months
A baby isn’t born with all the visual abilities that they will need because they eyes aren’t fully developed yet. Some of these things are developed with time, such as eye focusing, movement, and using vision for learning opportunities.
– Birth to 4 Months: During the first four months of a child’s life, the baby is learning to process visual stimulation. The eyes start working together so that the baby can learn hand-eye coordination. By 8 weeks of age, a child can focus on the faces of people who are nearby. By 3
months, the baby should be able to follow objects with their eyes.
– 5 to 8 Months: This is the time when a baby begins to develop depth perception. They also can discern colors and continue to improve with hand-eye coordination. Crawling is an activity that helps the child to practice eye coordination with body movements.
– 9 to 12 Months: As the child transitions from crawling to walking, the vision continues to improve. The baby will be able to judge distances well and use their hand-eye coordination to throw things with accuracy.
– 13 to 24 Months: Hand-eye coordination should be developed by the age of two. Their vision continues to improve, helping them to recognize familiar objects and explore the environment.
Warning Signs of Visual Development Problems
How can you tell if your child is having problems with visual development? There are several signs that you can watch for which might indicate that you need to talk to an experienced pediatric eye doctor in Chicago. If you notice any of these problems, then we encourage you to schedule an appointment with our team at Village Eyecare:
– Sensitivity to Light: If the child acts fussy or sensitive when the lights are turned on, then it could be an indication of high pressure in the eye.
– Eye Turning: Do the eyes turn in the wrong direction? Eye muscle control could be a problem if the eyes are turning.
– Red or Goopy Eyes: Your child might have an eye infection if you notice that the eyes are red. Often, the eyes are goopy, which causes them to be crusty.
– Excess Tears: If a tear duct is blocked, then the eyes could produce an excess of tears.
– White Pupil: Eye cancer might be present if you can see white coloring in the pupil.
If you have questions about your child’s eye health, the best thing that you can do is schedule an appointment with an experienced eye doctor. We can offer treatments and advice to help with the visual development of your child. For more information, talk to our team here at Village Eyecare. We offer four convenient locations that you can visit in the Chicago area.
