Vision is more than seeing clearly and having 20/20 vision.
Babies learn to focus and develop depth perception so that they can develop hand-eye coordination and recognise people and the things around them.
This begins at birth, where they can focus on one object and remain focussed on that one thing, usually a carer’s face. That object needs to be within about 20 cm of them. It is only after a few months that the baby’s eyes start to work together, developing their vision.
At around 4-6 months that a baby starts to develop depth perception -knowing whether an object is near or far. This enables the baby to see a 3D view of the world.
Photo by Andriyko Podilnyk on Unsplash
Looking helps develop and strengthen eye muscles, vision, tracking and focus. The things your baby needs to be a crawler, a walker, a player, a climber, a builder, a socialiser, a reader and a writer!
So: Why a Tree?
Lying on the ground looking up at things that move is important and we have the ideal items in nature.
Think about what happens with your eyes when you look up at a tree:
The leaves move
The sunlight filters through
The light is gentle
The shadows change
The leaves are different
You look deeper into the leaves
Your eyes focus and refocus
You move your eyes to look at different parts
Photo by Arnaud Mesureur on Unsplash
You know your child best: If you have any concerns or questions about your baby, talk to your health providers.
For other strategies, ideas and fun, ELF can help.
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