14
Nov

Parents often help their babies with major physical milestones, such as learning to talk and walk. But, have you thought about activities that can be included to help with visual development milestones as well? There are many things that you can do at helping support their visual skills and help your child with healthy development patterns.

Follow these guidelines for various stages of life:

0 – 6 Months Old

• Move objects in front of them to help with eye tracking
• Play peek-a-boo to help the eyes learn to focus on different things
• Add colorful objects in the room to give the child something to look at

6 – 12 Months Old

• Offer bright toys that are easy to grab, helping with hand-eye coordination
• Hide a toy and encourage them to find it
• Support with the process of learning to crawl and walk, which is important for eye coordination

1 – 3 Years Old

• As your baby moves into the toddler years, it can be a great time to read picture books
• Introduce balls that can be bounced and thrown to help with hand-eye coordination
• Teach words that match different objects in the room to build vocabulary and visual identification
• Offer drawing materials, such as crayons and coloring books, to stimulate vision and set the foundation for writing

Even though these tasks might seem basic, they can have a cumulative impact on the long-term health of your baby. As you help your child learn to see and identify different things, it supports the information that is needed when the child starts attending preschool, kindergarten, and more. Healthy vision is essential to ensure that the child can learn to identify letters and read with time.

Consulting with an Optometrist

One of the best things that you can do is start your child with regular eye exams at a young age. These appointments give your family optometrist an opportunity to identify potential problems so that early interventions can be used. As a result, you can prevent some of the common vision problems that can hinder education and develop as the child continues to grow.

If you have questions, then we encourage you to contact our team for assistance. We are proud to offer two office locations: Temecula office at (951) 302-1331 or our Murrieta office at (951) 600-9226.