She is very alert and aware of her surroundings. Let’s use her growing acute sense of vision to teach her about her world and engage her. As her distance vision comes into clearer focus, try these activities:
- Blow bubbles-encourage her to watch the bubbles as they float away. Can she keep her eyes on one bubble as it moves? How long can she track it?
- Silk scarves-Move silk scarves through the air in front of him. Move farther away. Does he watch the scarves as you move them side to side, up and down, and in a large circle?
- Flashlight games-use different color silk scarves or tissue paper as filters over the flashlight and shine it on the ceiling in a dark room. Change the colors for different effects and talk about the color as you shine the flashlight. Does she look at the light on the ceiling?
- Flashlight beams-Shine the flashlight out the window on a dark night and see if she follows it with her eyes. Point out what you see outside in the beam.
- Moving flashlight-Slowly move the flashlight around a dark room and see if she is able to follow the light with her eyes. Is she able to track it as it moves? Shine the light on a teddy bear and say, “There is teddy bear.” Then, shine it on a book and say, “There is your book.”
- Don’t encourage early walking. Crawling helps visual skills develop.
- Put a mirror across the room and look in it with your baby. Does he focus on his reflection? When you move, does he take notice in the mirror?
- Move a playing card or other unfamiliar object in an arc about 24 inches from her face. Does she track it side to side, up and down, and in a circle?
These activities will heighten her curiosity and teach her to pay attention to her surroundings. Keep finding new and interesting ways to “exercise” her sense of vision every day.
References:
Fox, S. (1999). Baby Steps: Exercises of Baby’s First Year of Life. Berkley Publishing Group.