Dear Dr.MOZ: Can my baby see my face?
November 16th 2009 by Dr.MOZ in Baby Vision, Dear Dr.MOZ
Dear Dr.MOZ,
Is it true that my newborn’s vision is too poor to see my face? If so, at what point would he be able to recognize me?
Thanks!
Daddy Shawn
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Hi Daddy Shawn,
It’s true that your newborn lacks the focus to see facial details when first born, but he can
definitely see enough of you to know you are there. See the description below along with the graphic example above to help determine how clearly your newborn will be able to see during development:
- Newborns: are able to see light and blurry shapes. He’ll see your head and outlines of facial features, but will be unable to control his focus as adults do for months to come.
- Month 2: brings an increasing ability make eye contact and to notice details in your face. You’ll still look blurry, but he’s well on his way to seeing things the way you do.
- Month 4: brings the ability to recognize you and other family members! He’ll see things in great detail compared to previous months and you’ll notice that he grabs things around him thanks to his new depth perception.
- Months 6-8: bring a better ability to track objects in the world around him. He’s not quite achieved 20/20 vision, but he’s increasingly interested in patterns and can distinguish objects, people, and facial expressions from greater distances.
Thanks for the great question Shawn and don’t forget that babies can also judge the world around them with their hearing. He may not be able to see you with great detail yet, but he’s been listing to voices from the womb and will recognize yours as a friendly one.
Have fun and stay healthy,
Dr.MOZ
> Visit Craftsbury Kids for the all natural toy teether giraffe above!
November 16th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
It is interesting to know how babies view things at different ages. As a mother, it is how they feel that counts in this early age. They feel the comfort that you give. Your touch counts most. They don’t cry when they feel someone is beside them.
November 16th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Very interesting subject I never thought of that.
November 16th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
I just forwarded your post to a friend who just gave birth. So given that, so it is really important to talk to the baby all the time to create a connection and familiarize the baby to my voice. Thank you for this info!
November 17th, 2009 at 4:33 am
I have noticed that babies react if you wear clothes with distinguishable patterns, like black and white lines. Could it be so?
November 17th, 2009 at 4:41 am
well i don’t think that they can recognize it but they do see.
November 17th, 2009 at 5:58 am
babies can clearly see object when they are at for 4 months and up.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
It’s so hard to imagine ever being limited to such blurry vision! If any of us suddenly reverted back to that, we would feel lost, confused, and quite possibly angry at the world around us.
The only question I have is how do they know what a baby can see? I mean, how do you prove it? It makes sense, so I’ll accept this as the way it is… I’m just curious how exactly they figured out something like this.
November 18th, 2009 at 3:12 am
As a dad this is good info – I had no idea of that
November 18th, 2009 at 5:08 am
I’ve read somewhere that in the first months, it’s important to make a connection with your baby by talking to him, as Victor said,because indeed the sight is poor.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:45 am
I always wonder how people manage to figure out what things look like through the eyes of others.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Great post! Had no idea that newborns cant see facial features. Thanks for the post Dr. Moz.
November 19th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Wow, didn’t know exactly how blurry their vision really was! Also… we have that same giraffe toy; it is very loud!
November 20th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
This is so true and is the main reason why it’s very important to give babies a rather large amount of comfort when they are young. Let them know you are there even though they can’t quite make out your face. The visual in this post really helps!
November 20th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Love the chart. Thanks
November 22nd, 2009 at 3:54 am
Thanks Daddy Shawn.Your question let me know this usefull infomation.
November 24th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
So babies start with the poor eyes and when we grow up at the late age of our lives, we return to poor eye vision.
November 25th, 2009 at 5:38 am
I never really knew this. This is really useful. I always assumed that babies could see facial features from when they were born. Thanks for this!!
November 29th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I love your graphic. I generally knew the different stages, but the picture really clears things up.
December 1st, 2009 at 1:26 pm
This graphic is really nice. It definitely helps you understand what they are able to see over time.
December 1st, 2009 at 8:45 pm
it is how they feel that counts in this early age. They feel the comfort that you give. Your touch counts most.
December 9th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
I found that although their vision is not as good as adults’, research has shown that babies have many visual abilities, so that their visual experience is quite rich and well-organized. However, their sensitivity to light and dark, and subtle shading improves about 4 times faster than their visual acuity.
December 21st, 2009 at 3:39 am
Precisely yes. Babies undergo different stages before they can clearly see images even your face. But they are very sensitive in what they hear. Try talking to them and introduce yourself. And also don’t forget to touch them. Touching is also a mean in communicating to babies.
January 12th, 2010 at 11:28 pm
This is some good information, I just finished up my paper for school and think I should go re-edit it lol. You may have just made me a regular