Babies Growth & Development Tips for Developing Your Baby's Visual Tracking Skills By Jennifer White Jennifer White has authored parenting books and has worked in childcare and education fields for over 15 years. Learn about our editorial process Jennifer White Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Sarah Rahal, MD on November 07, 2019 linkedin Sarah Rahal, MD is a double board-certified adult and pediatric neurologist and headache medicine specialist. Learn about our Review Board Sarah Rahal, MD Updated on November 29, 2020 Print Compassionate Eye Foundation/Three Images/Digital Vision/Getty Images In the first three months of your baby's physical development, her vision will be steadily developing. You'll find she loves staring at faces and can follow objects with her eyes. To help encourage the development of her baby vision, there are several simple games that you can play together. Visual Tracking in Babies Visual tracking is the ability to follow a moving object with the eyes. At only a few weeks of age, Baby can show her mastery of this skill if the object is at the proper distance. As a newborn, the ideal distance is eight to 10 inches. Your newborn can better track objects that are of a contrasting color or design, but any interesting toy or object will do. Your Infant's Vision Development From Birth to 2 Months Baby Vision Activity Visual stimulation is a great way to assess how well your baby's vision is developing. Select a time when your baby is in a good mood—well-fed, comfortable, and alert—to play this simple game. Keep in mind, if your baby has had too much playtime, she may become overstimulated and start to fuss. Watch your baby's cues for when she is ready to play. Begin by holding a simple toy (like a ball or set of baby keys) about nine inches away from your baby's eyes.Wait patiently for her eyes to locate the object in her vision. To capture her attention, you may need to shake the object.Move the object slowly to the left and to the right and allow her to track the object. Don't move the object too quickly, or she will lose her focus. As long as you don't move the object too far from her range of view, her eyes should lock onto the toy. If you do this activity daily, you'll begin to notice that she will increase the length of time she tracks objects. As she approaches three months, you can also begin to slowly move the object up and down as well as left to right, developing both horizontal and vertical tracking skills. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Track your baby’s most exciting moments with our milestone checklist. Get it free when you sign up for our newsletter. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. American Optometric Association. Toys, Games, and Your Child's Vision. American Optometric Association. Infant Vision: Birth to 24 Months of Age. American Academy of Pediatrics. Warning Signs of Vision Problems in Infants & Children. Updated July 19, 2016.