When my daughter turned two-and-a-half, I realised that her eyes were starting to shift away from the baby blues she was born with and into more of a hazel-green shade.
It surprised me a lot. I knew this happened to some kids, but I hadn’t expected it to happen so late.
Well, it turns out the change can occur anywhere between three months and three years old, according to Healthline, although it’s uncommon for them to shift so last-minute.
But why does this happen?
A baby’s iris doesn’t contain much melanin at birth, according to Dr Emily Zepeda, a clinical assistant professor and paediatric ophthalmologist at the Dean McGee Eye Institute.
This means their eyes allow light to reflect off them more which gives them that blue-grey appearance – and that’s where the term ‘baby blue’ comes from. (You learn something new every day.)
The pigments that give our eyes colour are created by cells called melanocytes, according to Dr Zepeda.
As your baby grows, melanocytes continue to develop and produce melanin, which is responsible for that eye colour change.
Of course, some babies’ eyes will remain the same – babies with brown eyes, for instance, are less likely to change.
But parents of babies with lighter coloured eyes may witness a gradual change as they darken to green, hazel or brown.
There’s no way to tell if your child’s eyes will change colour. But All About Vision does suggest that “a pretty good indicator ... is to inspect their eyes from the side”.
“If their eyes are clear and bright blue, they may stay that way. If their eyes are a darker blue and there are flecks of gold throughout, they may change to hazel, green or brown,” they add.
Huh!