During the first four months of life
- Follow moving objects with the eyes
- Reach for things, first by chance and later more accurately, as hand-eye coordination and depth perception begin to develop.
Between four and eight months:
- Turn from side to side and use his or her arms and legs.
- Eye movement and eye/body coordination skills should develop further and both eyes should focus equally.
- Enable your baby to explore different shapes and textures with his or her fingers
- Give your baby the freedom to crawl and explore
- Hang objects across the crib; and play "patty cake" and "peek-a-boo" with your baby.
From eight to twelve months,
- Crawl and pull himself or herself up.
- He or she will begin to use both eyes together and judge distances
- Gasp and throw objects with greater precision.
- To support development don’t encourage early walking,. Crawling is important in developing eye-hand-foot-body coordination
- Give your baby stacking and take-apart toys; and provide objects your baby can touch, hold and see at the same time.
From one to two years:
- Your child’s eye-hand coordination and depth perception will continue to develop and he or she will begin to understand abstract terms.
- Encourage walking
- Provide building blocks, simple puzzles and balls
- Provide opportunities to climb and explore indoors and out.
There are many other affectionate and loving ways in which you can aid your baby's vision development. Use your creativity and imagination. Ask your doctor of optometry to suggest other specific activities.
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