Home > Encyclopedia of Children's Health > Eye and Vision Development

Definition

The visual system is the most complex sensory system in the human body. However, it is the least mature system at birth. Though they have the anatomical structures needed for sight, infants have not learned to use them yet. Much of their first weeks and months are spent learning to see. As children grow, more complex skills, like visual perception, develop.

Description

At birth, the sense of hearing is much more dominant than the sense of sight. Normal visual development is the change from just responding to simple brightness or high contrast, toward the organization of details into patterns and the ability to apply meaning to an object or picture.

Infancy

At birth, babies are capable of seeing shapes...