We investigated how and from which parts child patients acquire visual information from pictures of human faces, with particular reference to how this changes with the age of the child. We used the FreeView (trade name) eye movement measuring instrument to examine 90 children between the ages of 2 years 11 months and 12 years 11 months. They were divided into three age groups: group A (below 7 years), group B (7-9 years) and group C (10 years and above). We found that:
1. Eye movement toward the central part of the face (such features as the eyes, nose and mouth) increased with age in terms of the frequency of eye fixation, duration of fixation and the number of children observing all such facial features. The age-related difference was clear.
2. The distribution of fixation points across the distal area, including the hair, forehead, cheeks, ears and chin, was not evenly scattered at any age but tended to focus on the facial features.
3. The saccadic eye movements across the distal area corresponded substantially to observation of the facial features. This phenomenon was common to all age groups.
4. Saccadic eye movement to the background and the frequency and duration of fixation on points in the background decreased with age and by number of children. No great diffrence was observed, however, between groups B and C.
