When do Babies start Seeing Colors?

Babies absorb information from the surrounding environment through various activities that involve the senses, one of which is by seeing. By optimizing the function of the sense of sight, it will be easier for babies to learn about the world's existence around them and their scope.

Most parents know that their baby can only see thick objects with contrasting colours at close range during the early weeks of birth. Many parents also wonder when their baby will be able to see colours. Here's an explanation from a medical perspective, interesting to know!

1. Babies can distinguish between dark and light in the womb

Since in the womb, babies can distinguish the perception of light between dark and light. This causes the baby's tendency to like books or other prints that feature contrasting colours or black and white images. Even so, that does not mean babies can only see black and white after they are born.

After the baby is born, he can see colours, but his brain has not been able to understand colour stimuli as well as older children (starting to mature in visual development).

2. Babies have difficulty recognizing the faces of people who are quite far away from them

According to the American Optometric Association, newborns have a limited focal length of about 8 to 10 inches from their eyes. After the age of 8 weeks, the baby's vision is quite improved, so that when the baby is carried, the baby can see the face of the person holding him more clearly.

In the early stages of the vision development, it is not uncommon for babies to have difficulty changing the focus of the object they are observing. This may prevent the baby's eyes from working properly. However, this condition is considered normal and will become normal over time.

3. The time to see colours varies from one baby to another

As reported by Yale Baby School, it is estimated that babies can see colours is around the age of 2 to 4 months. For starters, babies can usually tell the difference between red and green.

Visual development is individual, which can vary from one baby to another. Simply put, there is no fixed time for babies to see colours.

Instead of dwelling too much on the basic age of babies being able to see colours, it is more important to encourage the growth and development of babies with colour stimulation. Parents can provide various books and toys in bold colours (red, green, blue, orange, etc.).

4. Stimulate baby's visual development

According to ophthalmologist pediatric ophthalmology from the United States (US), Charline S. Boente, MD. MS., a variety of biological and anatomical factors are involved in the developing baby's visual system.

"Babies must have the ability to identify and focus on objects before seeing color. In addition, the normal development of the retina and optic nerve is also very important," said doctor Charline quoting Today.

The way to stimulate the baby's visual development can be done with simple steps. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends various activities to help stimulate the baby's visuals, such as going outside, showing foreign objects, performing various facial expressions in front of the baby, and reading books to encourage interaction.

5. Beware of indications of colour blindness in babies

Colour blindness is a condition when a person cannot distinguish certain colours. According to the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS), the common colours affected by colour blindness, are red and green.

Although rare, there is a more severe form of colour blindness known as achromatopsia. Achromatopsia causes a person to only see objects with shades of grey or black and white.

Here are some signs of colour blindness to look out for when your baby is getting older (toddlers or preschoolers):

• Using the wrong words to describe the colour of the object (for example, the child says the leaf colour is brown, not green)
• Colouring pictures of common objects using the wrong colour (for example, a child colouring the sky purple instead of blue)
• Difficulty distinguishing colours
• Experiencing light sensitivity
• Experiencing headaches or eye irritation when viewing red images or text on a green background
• Less interested in colouring books
• Difficulty distinguishing colours in low light or when many colours blend

It is important to provide stimulation to hone children's visual abilities from a young age as a wise parent. There is no need to worry if the baby has difficulty labelling colours correctly before he is 2 to 3 years old. As visual development matures, children can automatically understand the complex colours around them.