Infants respond to high-contrast patterns (e.g., black on white). The youngest babies see shapes by looking to see where light and dark lines meet. This simple game will help your little one focus on a shape with his eyes.
- flashlight
- dark or semi-dark room
Step 1: Turn the lights off in your child’s bedroom.
Step 2: Facing the wall, sit down and hold your infant in your lap.
Step 3: Shine a flashlight about six inches from the wall on an open wall space.
Step 4: Show your baby how the beam of light shows up as a light-colored circle against a darkened background. Touch the circle on the wall and watch to see whether your baby is looking at it. You might say, “Look over here at this circle. There’s a circle on the wall!”
Step 5: Move the flashlight closer to or further from the wall to make the light beam larger and smaller and move the flashlight beam from side to side.
Step 6: Check to see if your little one is watching your light show!