During the summer vacation of 2024, customers of the Myopia Management Program for School Children can enjoy free trial fittings of myopia control soft contact lens or OK lens (Orthokeratology) and even special discounts! During the summer vacation of 2024, customers of the Myopia Management Program for School Children can enjoy free trial fittings of myopia control soft contact lens or OK lens (Orthokeratology) and even special discounts!
Home / Dr Marco, PhD. Forum / Babies to Dear Parents - a letter about the Eye Health and Visual Development of Newborns

Babies to Dear Parents - a letter about the Eye Health and Visual Development of Newborns

BB致親愛的爸爸媽媽 - 關於初生嬰兒的眼睛健康及視覺發育 - iCARE EYECARE  護眼·家

Dear Mom and Dad,

Thank you for bringing me into this wonderful world and for your meticulous care, which allowed me to grow up healthily. Your attentive care is crucial in my early years, especially when it comes to my vision. Your role in understanding and nurturing my visual development is key. You two often look at me intently, but do you know what the eyes and visual development of a newborn baby are like? What is the world a newborn sees like?

Although I already had a pair of crystal eyes when I was born, my visual development was immature. In the first few weeks, because my central vision developed slower than my peripheral vision, my visual acuity (resolution) was initially numb, like a person with a moderate level (about -3 to -4D) of myopia but without eyeglasses, so I would only react to large and moving things around me. And I was sensitive to light. You may notice that the pupil in the middle of my eye was shrunk to a tiny size to protect my eyes from intense light. And the world I see was pale, like black and white.

After a few weeks, my retinas have developed a little better and my pupils dilated a little. When I was about a month old, I occasionally looked at your faces, but most of the time, I was still more interested in the big, colorful doll hanging a few feet away. My two eyes may not work in sync. Sometimes, you may think that I might have cross-eyes (esotropia) or as if my two eyes were looking in different directions, but this often happens to babies at this stage. Let's keep watching it for a while. But if you notice that one of my eyes is moving inward or outward constantly, you may bring me to an eye doctor or optometrist to check it out. When I was about two months old, my eyes would follow moving objects, such as you, Mommy! You had been busy moving around taking care of me. Mom, you are the prettiest! By the time I was three months old, I could do some hand-eye coordination. I'm making progress, and you should be proud of that.

After about five to eight months of age, I should have good color vision, stereopsis, and depth perception. Don't leave Dad's mobile phone lying around. I will crawl over to it with all my strength and get it immediately!

My sense of distance will gradually develop into something more sophisticated, and by about ten months old, I will be able to use my fingers to grasp small objects. In addition, my ability to move is improving, so you need to pay more attention to me and be careful that I might be choked by swallowing small objects!

Regards,

Your little sweetheart

Reprinted from the original in Oh! Pama

Author: Dr Marco, Ph.D. in Vision Science, Registered Optometrist (Part 1)

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