Ear
YourInfections
baby's eyes
Delivering a Healthy WA
on around them, moving their heads so they
can see things that move around behind them.
Things that might hurt them need to be kept
out of reach, and even out of sight, as they
will try to move towards things that look
interesting.
Some babies can crawl over to things by six
months and others will roll to get to things
that they can see. Some quite normal babies
will not be able to move towards things for
another month or so.
They will also start to look at pictures for a
few seconds, so now could be the time to start
showing them books (for a few seconds or so).
It is best to start with clear simple pictures
with bright colours first.
Eight months
By eight months babies can see things quite
clearly and are starting to be good at getting
their hands and eyes to work together. They
will spot something, move towards it, pick it
up and look at it.
Some things will still go into their mouths, but
they will often spend more time looking.
When things go out of sight (maybe something
has dropped), they can now remember that
they were looking at something and will look
around to find it again.
Babies now clearly recognise their mother and
other people. For a while your baby may clearly
show you that she wants to be mostly with
mum, and will look at other people, then turn
away especially if they move close to her.
Show her and name things in her room and in your
house, and things that she sees when you go out.
your
baby's
eyes
For more information contact:
Local Community Child Health Nurse
12 months
Local Family Doctor
By 12 months babies can recognise people
Ngala Family Resource Centre Helpline clearly when they are several metres away,
and many are starting to use words for things
that they can see, especially mum and dad.
8.00 a.m. - 8.00 p.m. 7 days a week
Telephone (08) 9368 9368
Outside metro area - Freecall 1800 111 546
www.ngala.com.au
Their 3-D vision is good now, a very useful
skill when they are learning to walk.
Books and pictures become more interesting,
Parent Help Centre/Parenting Line but only for a few seconds, people and other
moving objects are still the thing they are
most interested in.
Telephone (08) 9272 1466 (24hr service)
Outside metro area - Freecall 1800 654 432
Taking photographs
There are some people who think that use of flash
lights when taking photographs of young babies
may cause some harm to the baby’s eyes. While it
probably does not cause much harm, if any, there
are ways of taking photographs which do not need
flash, and these would be the safest way of taking
photos. For example, photographs taken outdoors
in the shade of a tree, or other shady places do
not need flashes, and because the light is diffused
(coming from many directions), you will get a
better picture than one taken with one source of
light (the flash). Check that the flash function is
turned off, because the light meter in a digital
camera may still trigger the flash if there are dark
areas in the background. For cameras using film,
use of fast films (e.g. ISO 400) will also mean that
a flash is not needed.
© Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service, reproduced
with permission. The South Australian Government does not
accept responsibility for the accuracy of this reproduction.
The original version is published at http://www.cyh.com
Warning
This document is published as general information only. You
should always consult a healthcare professional for diagnosis
and treatment of any health condition or symptoms.
Disclaimer
The advice and information contained herein is provided in
good faith as a public service. However the accuracy of any
statements made is not guaranteed and it is the responsibility
of readers to make their own enquiries as to the accuracy,
currency and appropriateness of any information or advice
provided. Liability for any act or omission occurring in reliance
on this document or for any loss, damage or injury occurring as
a consequence of such act or omission is expressly disclaimed.
HP 3436 JUNE’06 21290
They will be very alert, watching what is going
This topic tells you about a baby’s eyes and their
understanding of what they can see in the first
year of her life.
Under two months old
As soon as a baby is born she can see, but she
does not know what she is seeing.
She can see most clearly things that are about
20 to 35 cm from her eyes, such as your face
when you are holding her close.
Faces seem to be the things that young babies
like to look at most, and they will stare at
people for quite long times, but they cannot
recognise a face at first.
They can also see things that are further away,
and might look at a bright light (such as light from
a window) and they may notice the movement of
someone in their room, but people and things that
are this far away will still be blurred for them.
They do not yet have good control over where
they are looking, and sometimes their eyes
might appear crossed for a moment while they
are looking around. If a baby has eyes which
seem to be crossed all of the time (a squint)
this needs to be checked by a doctor.
Young babies are better able to see contrasting
bright colours than pale colours.
Give them interesting things to look at, but only
one thing at a time. The best thing is for them
to have the faces of the people closest to them
to explore and grow to know.
At this age many babies have dark coloured eyes
(actually it is the iris which is coloured). Later,
as more pigment (colour) is formed in the iris
the eye may change in colour. This change in
colour will probably be finished by the time a
baby is six months old.
Blocked tear duct
Many babies are born with tear ducts that are not
fully developed or that are narrower than usual.
This means that the tears that are formed to keep
the surface of the eye damp and healthy do not
drain away, through the tear ducts, into the nose.
This may cause the eye to be wet much of the
time (often called a ‘sticky eye’), with tears
running out onto the cheek.
Lacrimal Gland - where
tears are made.
After two months
By the time they are about two months old
babies usually ‘fix’ well on things such as a face
(keep their eyes still while they are looking at
it).
They will watch moving things for a little while.
They will begin to recognise faces, especially
the face of their mother. They still see things
that are close more clearly than things that
are further away, but they will show interest
in things that are a couple of metres away.
Three months
Tear Duct - carrying
tears from eyes to nose.
For more than 90% of babies, the ducts
become normal before they are 12 months old
with little or no treatment.
You can wipe away the tears or sticky
discharge with a clean cotton ball, or cloth,
that has been dampened with boiled water.
Your doctor or nurse may also show you how
to massage the baby’s tear duct. This seems to
help the tears to drain away.
Sometimes an infection can develop. There
might be more white or yellow discharge from
the eye, and there can be swelling and redness
of the eyelids and the side of the nose. If
there is an infection, the baby needs to be
checked by a doctor, as treatment with an
antibiotic may be needed.
If the tear ducts do not begin working
normally, the duct may need to be opened
with a fine probe when the baby is about 12
months old. This is a simple operation, but it
needs to be done under an anaesthetic.
By the time they are three months old they
will be able to recognise their mother, and
other people who spend a lot of time with
them, as they walk in the door.
Babies show that they see you by smiling or
laughing, or stopping what they are doing to
look at you.
Their distance vision is getting clearer and
they can follow you with their eyes as you
move around the room.
They will start to look carefully at something
that is close and soon they will be able to
reach out and touch it. This is the start of
their eye-hand coordination (how they are
able to control their movements as they touch
something they are looking at).
By this age they can usually control their eye
movements so that the eyes move together
when they are looking at something.
Four months
Around four months, babies can start to reach
for things that they see, and soon they can
grasp things, then look closely at them.
They will be able to watch people and things
that are moving quite fast, and they will look
around to see interesting things.
By now they will be looking around when you
go out, and they need more interesting things
to look at when they are home. They will be
listening to words carefully now, and it will
help their language development if you name
the things that they can see, such as their
hands and feet, clothes, nappies, bath and
toys while you are playing with them.
Note: If their eyes seem crossed much of the
time, this needs to be checked by a doctor.
Sometimes ‘crossed’ eyes can be seen more easily
in a photo, where you may be able to see that the
light of a flash reflects on different parts of the
cornea (the clear part at the front of the eye) on
each side. The spot of light might be to the right
of the pupil on one side, and to the left side of
the pupil on the other side.
Six months
By six months babies are starting to use their
eyes together well. This means that they see
things in three-dimensions (they are able to
see how far things are away, as well as what
their shape is).
Because they can start to judge distance, they
will be able to reach out for lots of things that
they see and usually they will take them to
their mouths (to taste and feel them).
Soon they will start to look more closely at
things, turning them around, noticing how
they change shape.