When will my baby see clearly?
Your baby will be able to see pretty clearly by the time he's 12 months old, but his vision won't be fully developed until he's between 3 and 5 years old.
A baby's vision improves dramatically over the first year. At birth an infant can detect light and motion, then can make out faces and large shapes. By the end of the first month, a baby can make eye contact and focus on objects about 12 inches away.
By the time a baby is 3 to 4 months old, he can distinguish between colors and focus on smaller objects. As his depth perception improves, he can focus on objects up to 3 feet away and watch activity around him. If you move a rattle from side to side a few inches from his face he'll follow it with his eyes – a skill known as "tracking."
If your baby doesn't watch moving objects, or if he seems to have trouble moving one or both eyes in any direction by the time he's 4 months old, talk to his doctor. His routine well-child checkups include basic vision assessments, but he probably won't have a formal vision screening until he's 3 to 5 years old.
