One of the great moments for parents - when your newborn son or daughter for the first time looks you straight in the eye. But do not worry if it does not happen immediately. For the development of a few months is required. If you know how to improve eyesight should your child (and help it), it's likely he successfully passed through all stages of development.

The vision of a newborn baby does not develop immediately. In the first week of life the baby does not distinguish details, and sees only the vague outlines in shades of gray.

Development of starts during pregnancy

Seeing the child begins to develop in utero. And how do you take care of yourself during pregnancy depends, whether will grow and develop the child, including the development of the eye and the brain regions responsible for vision.

Follow the instructions your doctor about healthy eating Healthy eating , Vitamin Vitamins for everyone   and a sufficient amount of rest during pregnancy. Do not smoke or drink alcohol - harmful substances can cause numerous problems for the future of children, including visual impairment.

Even the reception of conventional medicines can be dangerous during pregnancy. Consult with your doctor before taking any medications, supplements or herbs.

Immediately after birth

Soon after birth the doctor will examine the newborn's eyes to see if there are any signs of cataract or other serious problems. Although such violations are rare, they are better detected and treated as early as possible, that they are as small as possible impact on the development of the child.

Also, often immediately after birth the baby's eyes treated with ointment with antibiotics to prevent possible infection, which can cause bacteria from the birth canal.

In the first days of the child sees the world in different shades of gray. The nerve cells of the brain are not sufficiently developed. Also, a newborn child is not able to focus the eye. So do not worry if the baby is not yet focused on your face - it needs a little time to learn it.

Despite the fact that the vision is still imperfect newborn children a few days after birth prefer to look at the mother's face, rather than unfamiliar faces or other objects. But if the mother markedly change your hairstyle or, for example, wears glasses, the child can not learn it.

It may seem that the newborn is very big eyes. This is true - the size of the eyes of the child at birth is 65% of the size of an adult (compare with how to change a child's growth).

First month

In the first month of life the child is not very sensitive to light. But the strong differences in the level of illumination, he says. So if you leave the poor lighting in the nursery, it will not prevent your baby to sleep (and you will not bump into the furniture when you get up to it).

Newborns quickly develop the ability to distinguish colors. About a week after the birth, they distinguish between red, orange, yellow and green. Later they learn to see the blue and purple (these colors shorter the wavelength, and the human eye is less receptors for this part of the spectrum).

Do not worry if sometimes the baby's eyes look in different directions, it is normal. However, if this happens all the time, it is necessary to show the child's doctor.

Tips: To stimulate the development of the baby, decorate the room with bright colors How to wear bright colors: 7 Tips . Use furniture and paintings contrasting colors and different shapes. Hang over the crib child colorful mobile.

The second and the third month

At this time the baby's vision is actively developing. The vision becomes clearer, the eyes move synchronously. The child begins to monitor the moving objects and reach for them.

At this age, babies learn to translate gaze from one object to another without moving his head. The child becomes more sensitive to changes in light, so during this time better to mute the light or draw the curtains when the baby sleeps.

Tips: To stimulate the development of the child during this period, it is recommended:

• Add new objects in the room, move them or cot.
• Talk with your child as they move around the room.
• Leave overnight turned the light source so that the child saw him wake up.
• While infants sleep better on the back, while you are awake, you can turn them on my stomach - it stimulates the development of vision and motor skills.

From the fourth to sixth months

By six months the visual centers in the brain of the child develops, the baby can more clearly see and respond more quickly to the movement of objects.

If the vision is about 20/400 newborn to six months it reaches 20/25. Child distinguishes the color is almost as good as an adult, and can see all the colors of the rainbow.

In addition, the child develops hand-eye coordination, and 4-6 months, he can quickly see and grab something, or exactly shove a bottle (and other things) in his mouth.

In the six months recommended eye examination by a doctor. While seeing the baby still can not be verified in the table, the doctor can determine whether the child sees well, if he had any signs of nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism or strabismus.

From the seventh to twelfth month

Now your child is mobile, it crawls around the house freely. It is better to estimate the distance, and he pretty well run out and throw objects.

This is an important period in the development of the child. Baby learns to recognize your body and coordinate vision and movement.

Also at this stage, you have to be very careful. It is actively exploring the world, a baby can hurt yourself. Take care of his eyes, especially from sharp objects and cleaners.

Do not be surprised if the child's eyes changed. Most babies are born with blue eyes, but eventually in the iris have more pigment and eyes change color.

Tips: In order to stimulate coordination and vision, play with your child on the floor. Shows him the favorite toys and offer to crawl to him. Give him toys that can be assembled and disassembled.

Squint

Pay attention to signs of squint (strabismus) in children. If after a few months of the baby's eyes still look in different directions, it is necessary to begin treatment to the vision developed symmetrically. Strabismus can cause amblyopia ("lazy eye").

In the first months of a child can not always manage to look both eyes on one side, but if you notice that one eye is constantly looking to the side, or moves out of sync with another, consult a doctor.

Vision problems in premature infants

When the approximate duration of a normal pregnancy is 40 weeks are considered premature babies born before 37 weeks. Such children have a higher risk of vision problems.

Children born much earlier period, can develop retinopathy of prematurity - a disease which in severe cases can lead to blindness. Therefore, a premature baby should be as soon as possible to examine the ophthalmologist.

Another possible problem - nystagmus. This involuntary eye movement, usually looking like a slow eye movement in one direction and a quick return in the opposite direction. Nystagmus may occur at birth or develop later. Among the risk factors - hypoplasia of the optic nerves, albinism and congenital cataract. If you see a child's symptoms of the disease, immediately contact your doctor.

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