Babies are not born with full vision abilities. Vision, and how the brain uses visual information, are learned skills. Starting at birth, babies use their eyes to learn and explore their world. Eye and vision problems in infants can cause developmental delays. Early detection of eye or vision problems is important to ensure that babies develop the visual abilities they need to grow and learn. A child’s first eye examination should occur between 6-12 months of age. St. Luke Eye Institute’s optometrist, Dr. Andrew Alpar, specializes in infant vision eye examinations. An infant eye exam will include testing for excessive amounts of near-sightedness, far-sightedness, or astigmatism; “lazy eye,” eye movement ability, and eye health problems. Parents are often unaware of their child having any of these problems. An infant eye examination can detect these conditions, and early treatment often results in prevention of permanent vision loss.