Did you know that babies have to learn how to see?

It might seem strange, since using our eyes is something we do automatically all day, but babies need to develop a number of visual skills in order to effectively use their eyes and process what they’re seeing, just like they have to learn how to walk and talk. Parents can be a big help to the child vision development process, particularly by choosing age-appropriate toys.

What a Baby Sees in the First Six Months

An infant’s world is made up of light, shadow, and blurry shapes. They can only effectively focus on things 8-15 inches away — coincidentally the perfect distance to see the face of the person holding them! Over time, they begin to see things more clearly and sharply, and parents can help in several ways:

• Fill their surroundings with color. It takes a few weeks before a baby’s color vision starts to develop, and once it does, they won’t be able to get enough of bright, pretty colors. That’s why they enjoy mobiles.
• Help them get used to tracking movement with their eyes by moving objects in front of them.
• Play peek-a-boo. This isn’t only to make them laugh (even though that already makes it worth doing); it’s a great way of giving them practice focusing their eyes.

The Dramatic Progress in Months 6-12

Hand-eye coordination begins to develop around month six, and parents can help by keeping Baby well supplied with colorful objects to grab and play with. Crawling also helps them learn coordination (which does sometimes come at the price of some bumps on the noggin, since they haven’t learned that their heads don’t stop at their eyes yet).

Months 6-12 are when your baby will get bored of peek-a-boo. The reason they love peek-a-boo so much in the early months is that they don’t understand object permanence yet, so it looks like magic to them, but eventually they figure out the trick: Mom and Dad aren’t blinking out of existence when they’re out of sight, they’re just hiding behind their hands! At this point, you can change the game and start hiding toys under a blanket and challenging them to find them.

Toddlerhood and Advanced Visual Skills

Toddlers gain a lot of coordination when they learn to walk, and playing with balls helps too. Comprehension and balance are big factors in a toddler’s visual skills. When they begin talking, they start putting names to the objects they see, and around age two, they might discover burgeoning artistic talent. Make sure they have access to paper and crayons! Big, interlocking blocks or wooden blocks are also great for toddlers.

Early Childhood Eye Exams

As important as it is to provide the right types of toys and play the right games with your baby, eye exams are critical to the child vision development process. Babies and toddlers lack the words and understanding to communicate to us if something is wrong with their eyesight, so more than anyone else, they need an eye doctor to check for them. This is why we recommend scheduling the first eye exam at six months and another around their third birthday.

View Video

Let’s get your child started on a life of healthy vision together!

Call or Text 219-659-3050 to book your comprehensive eye exam today with our award winning team!

Congratulations to Clara! She’s officially graduated from our vision therapy program!

She has made tremendous gains in reading and writing times, and we’re excited to see her blossom into a top student!

Clara can now read and write for longer periods of time without frustration and anxiety and loves to learn.

  Before                                  After

The results have been amazing and dramatic! Her hand-eye coordination and visual-motor skills improved since completing vision therapy at Levin Eye Care Center.

If you want your child to reach their full potential, call or text us at 219-659-3050 for more information and to schedule your appointment for a comprehensive eye exam.

Vision Therapy helped me become more coordinated and focused! I love reading and learning in school now. 

Victoria’s mother talks about the changes she has seen in her daughter since entering in our vision therapy program at Levin Eye Care Center. Before vision therapy, Victoria found it very difficult to focus on her schoolwork. Learning and reading was very difficult and she could never seem to finish an entire chapter at her reading level. A math assignment would take her an hour and a half to complete. I have Victoria enrolled in Mexican folkloric dance and she would always get frustrated that she couldn’t grasp the steps or coordinate the dance with the rest of the group. At home she would fall or trip often and hurt herself.

The biggest change I have seen is that Victoria is able to finish reading books in their entirety. She has completed various books and loves to tell me about them. Before completing the vision therapy program she took more than an hour to complete a math lesson, now she averages about 40 minutes. She also amazes her dance teacher with her improved coordination.

My daughter is now confident at school and in dance class. She doesn’t doubt herself or make excuses since attending vision therapy. I have seen her love for learning and reading blossom as opposed to before vision therapy she just wanted to get her schoolwork out of the way or find an excuse not to do it. I always knew she had the potential and intelligence to perform well and am very thankful that Dr. Levin offers vision therapy!

Victoria states: “Thank you Levin Eye Care Center for helping fix my eye problems!”

Vision Therapy helped me become more confident and focused!

Before vision therapy John struggled with reading, spelling, handwriting and staying focused. He was also having challenges with emotional outbursts and became frustrated with many areas of daily life and not being focused in school. Dr. Levin prescribed vision therapy, which is a series of designed eye and vision-based exercises to improve John’s fine motor skills in focusing, eye coordination, perception and eye teaming.

Since completing vision therapy, John is more relaxed, calm, and focused. He no longer struggles with schoolwork and has a positive outlook when faced with challenges. John now enjoys reading, writing and completing his homework on time. Also, he is more confident with school activates, sports and friends. School and daily activities are no longer overwhelming and he has exhibited an increase in classroom performance.

Congratulations John!  We are very proud of you and look forward to your future accomplishments!

If you know someone who is having trouble focusing in school or work and its becoming a daily challenge then they could need vision therapy. We can help diagnose the issue and get to the root of the problem. Call us at 219-659-3050 for more info and to setup a vision evaluation.