Helpful Tips to Save Your Child's Vision

Every year, millions of children around the world get into accidents while playing at home or even at school that damages their eyes. In fact, vision problems are one of the top causes of interfering with child growth at an early age, and yet most children under 5 years old have not undergone any eye examination at all.

When it comes to keeping your child healthy, most know how important it is to visit the pediatrician for annual check-ups. But what most parents aren’t aware of is the fact that annual eye exams are equally as important as visiting the pediatrician.

When is the first eye exam needed?

Adults without vision problems can receive an eye exam and vision test every two years. However, if you are over the age of 40, whether you have any vision concern or not, an annual eye exam is a must. As for children, they should get their first eye exam at six months old. It's quite early on in life that we should begin taking care of our eyes.

Interestingly, a child’s vision during infancy is always changing and developing. In the first few months, an infant can only see black and white colors and focus on close up objects. However, their visual development sharpens at six months old. At this age children should have their eyes first examined by an eye doctor to make sure they are properly developing. Failure to get a child's eyes checked at this early age may lead to poor vision in their lifetime. By the age of 3 or 4 years old, children at their pre-kindergarten stage should get another eye exam. By this time, their eyes have basically grown and are fully developed. An annual eye exam is a must in the succeeding years along with an annual checkup to a pediatrician. A full and complete eye checkup is the best way for doctors to monitor a child’s developing young eyes.

What can be detected in an eye exam?

Early detection of eye problems and early treatment can help stop further development of bigger problems that could impair a child’s precious eyesight for life. Eye doctors can detect a common eye condition which usually develops early on in a child’s life called “lazy eye." Here, treatment makes use of a corrective eye patch on the normal eye to correct the “lazy eye." Children’s eye examinations can also detect eye problems such as farsightedness, nearsightedness, and astigmatism which can be easily addressed with prescription glasses.

Just like any trip to a medical center, you might be worried about kids getting scared and anxious when they get their eyes checked by an eye doctor. But don’t worry, eye exams are now made fun for kids!

Help keep your child’s eyes safe and healthy

The child’s vision is an important factor in their ability to learn academically at school, in sports, and other activities. We’ve rounded up some helpful tips to help protect your child’s vision. Here are some things you can do to maintain your child’s vision at its optimal health.

• For healthy eyes, encourage your children to eat plenty of green leafy vegetables and vitamin-fortified milk.
• Make sure to buy your child a pair of high-quality sunglasses with 100% UV protection to shield their eyes from the sun’s UV exposure.
• Keep harmful substances like bugs spray, detergents, and sharp objects away from your children’s reach to avoid any accidents, including eye contact.
• Schedule them for an eye checkup at the doctor's suggested cadence to monitor and address any eye-related problems which are mostly remedied with prescription glasses. Make sure to get the right glasses for your kids considering factors such as design, fit, and quality. Check out these cool Norman Childs Market glasses your kid might love.

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• Make sure your children are wearing the proper eyewear when playing sports. Invest in high-quality safety goggles to protect their eyes from any eye injuries especially when playing high physical sports like baseball, soccer or ice hockey.
• Create a good study environment for your kids to prevent eye strain. Make sure you have enough and proper lighting for whenever they study, read, write, and even eat. Make use of your windows to let natural light in which is the best form of light for the eyes.
• Strictly impose a time limit on your kids when using their mobile phones or computer. Monitor their screen time and make sure they take a 10-minute break every hour. Studies show that overdoing computer and mobile activities can cause blurry vision and focusing problems.

Spotting eye problems

Most children don’t complain when they are starting to experience trouble in seeing. And most parents often attribute certain signs and symptoms like difficulty in learning, sports, and attention problems to other causes. Although symptoms such as squinting are an obvious sign of a problem with your child’s vision, there are additional symptoms that can be spotted right away to immediately be addressed, including:

• Poor comprehension and concentration
• Poor and short attention span
• Loses place and points to words when reading
• Constant blinking and rubbing of eyes when reading
• Problems with making homework
• Redness of eyes
• Sensitivity to light
• Difficulty reading and identifying letters and words
• Sitting very close to the TV
• Reading and using mobile phones very close to the eyes

It is crucial that you watch your child’s behavior and observe the above-mentioned signs. If you notice your child has any of these, see your doctor.

Glasses and Contacts

Adults, kids, and even babies can wear glasses and even contacts. Let the kids pick the design of the glasses they are confident and comfortable to wear. You can check several designs so your child can choose and pick their desired frames.

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Keep the following tips in mind when choosing glasses for your kids:

• Let your kids choose their frames.
• Plastic frames work best for children below 2 years old.
• Frames with elastic strap for young kids will keep the glasses in place.
• If you select metal frames for your kids, make sure they have durable spring hinges.
• Choose Polycarbonate lenses for athletic kids because of the material's tough and shatterproof, yet lightweight properties. 

Take extra precautions when it comes to your children's eyewear health. Don’t assume all is well until you see your kids squinting and complaining about their eyes. Save your child’s vision by scheduling your kids a yearly appointment to your eye doctor and choosing the best pair of quality eyewear for them. Interested in seeing cute and cool glasses from our collection that your kids might love? Shop here.