Top Five Signs about your child’s vision that you should never ignore
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October 2, 2023Parents-we’ve all been there, haven’t we? You look over at your child as they’re engrossed playing games on their tablets and there they are, their noses practically pressed up against the screen. This begs the question- “Is Roblox just that interesting or are they not seeing the screen well?”
It’s so hard to tell if you’re missing some vital (but easily overlooked) signs that your child needs glasses. Keep reading to clear up some of those questions you may have about your children’s eyesight and vision habits as we delve into just some of the signs that your child may need to have their eyes tested.
Firstly, let’s take some of the guesswork out of whether your child needs glasses by getting your child’s eyes tested as early as 6-12 months of age. Don’t worry about them not knowing their ABC’s yet, we have all the equipment and charts to overcome this. We also work hard at One Optics to make their first eye exams fun and entertaining and alleviate any worries your little ones may have-happy kids always have more precise results, so we know how important it is that they are comfortable.
After their first eye exam, we suggest checking their eyes every year as we can help detect vision problems earlier than later and correct any problems as quickly as possible.
As parents, we always strive to give the best to our children, but sometimes certain things can run under your watchful radar and your children’s eye health is commonly one of them. Blurry vision or poor eye health can go undetected especially in young children. Why is this?
Kids who do not see things well simply adapt and may use common coping mechanisms (which we’ll be getting into) to alleviate eye problems. Some children are blissfully unaware that their world is blurred-they’ve been seeing like that since they’ve been born so that’s how they think the world looks. Thus, you’ll most likely never hear them complain about it.
So, what can you do? Here are just some signs of a problem with your child’s vision that you should never ignore.
Getting too close to their handheld devices/ books or running closer to the TV.
One amazing thing about children? They are highly adaptable creatures so what do they do when they can’t see something well? Easy-they will just move closer to what they want to see!
A child who is short-sighted may go closer to see the TV to see the screen better even when prompted over and over to sit further away.
If they are bringing things closer to their eyes while reading or while looking at a tablet, this could mean that your child is far-sighted and attempting to make the words larger and more in focus.
This sign is often mistaken by parents as their little one concentrating or being totally absorbed by what they are looking at which leads to this sign being missed by even the most attentive of parents.
The key to differentiating this is by taking note how often you observe them trying to get closer to what they are looking at.
So, ask yourself-Are you constantly reminding your child to move away from the books/tablet or telling them to sit back down and stop blocking the TV? It could be your little one is struggling with their sight.
Squinting or closing one eye or tilting their head.
This is another common sign of vision problems. Squinting the eyes is a very human and universal response to blurry vision and our kids are no exception. We all unconsciously squint our eyes when viewing something that is out of focus. This creates a pin hole effect which temporarily clears our vision. We adults often find ourselves doing this if confronted with tiny print or while trying to view that far away street sign. If your child does this very often, then Mom or Dad- it’s time for an eye exam!
Some people are born with one eye with significantly weaker vision, and they often do not know it until they present for an eye exam. So, this is also a sign of trouble if you see your child closing one eye or tilting their head- they are attempting to stop the blurry image from their weaker eye and use just the good eye to view. This again, can be an unconscious reflex and they are very often, completely unaware that they are doing this.
Another reason for closing one eye could be that they have double vision (seeing two images instead of one) and they are attempting to rid themselves of that uncomfortable and distracting effect. This could be due a small misalignment of their eyes while focusing. This misalignment needs to be treated ideally before the age of seven, or else this misalignment effects may become permanent.
You notice that one eye is turned outwards or inwards sometimes or all the time.
Keeping with the topic of misaligned eyes-Persons with one misaligned eye have what we would call a “lazy eye” or a “squint.” This could be quite noticeable to some parents, but they may falsely believe that they child may grow out of it and delay that all important binocular vision assessment. Parents, resist the urge to delay as these types of issues need to be addressed ASAP because our children’s visual system loses its ability to be changed after the age of seven.
On the other hand, some lazy eyes are so mild that some parents will notice it only while looking at pictures of their little ones-their eyes may look a little unfocused or just “off” in their photos. Maybe their eyes only look misaligned when they are tired or upset and crying. Listen to your instincts and bring them in for an eye exam-you will never regret getting a professional diagnosis and avoiding eye problems developing later.
Rubbing their eyes.
This vague sign could mean numerous things but it most frequently means they are feeling some sort of eye discomfort.
No need to worry if your child rubs their eyes occasionally especially while tired or sleepy. This is another universal sign of sleepiness that even us adults indulge in from time to time. However, are you always swatting your child’s hands away from their eyes? Are they rubbing them until their lids are raw and red? Then take note: from dry eyes, allergies, infection, to tiredness/fatigue from straining to see-all these could be reasons your child may be found to be rubbing their eyes too often.
All of it remains a mystery until their eyes are assessed but consistent and constant rubbing of the eyes is a definite sign of discomfort whether physical or visual.
Frequent headaches or Eye pain.
Complaints of headaches or tired, achy eyes could be a sign of poor vision/eye fatigue for both children and adults. If your child complains of headaches or achy eyes mostly in the afternoon, or after prolonged periods concentrating on a task then the pain could indicate a problem with vision or eye fatigue. Another clue lies in the fact that you notice their pain lessens or goes away after taking a break or resting/sleeping. Especially important if in combination with the other signs discussed in this article, this sign should not be ignored.
Struggling with School.
If your child has trouble concentrating in school or while doing schoolwork, one of the first recommended steps is getting their eyes examined. The reason? Blurry vision or faulty focusing can cause some kids to get distracted easily or be unmotivated to do extended periods of work that is visually challenging to them. They may even resist reading or doing close work and they may even have trouble comprehending the work they are being shown.
Up to 60% of children with learning problems have undiagnosed vision problems. Many are commonly misdiagnosed as having ADHD(Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) or even just being plain lazy when in fact they may simply need glasses.
Even the most gifted child would struggle academically if they were unable to their board or books properly.
It makes sense why they would appear to be uninterested/lazy-they simply cannot concentrate or enjoy anything that they are looking at if it appears blurry. Let’s face it-if we were watching a blurry TV screen for a couple of minutes as adults, we would switch the channel quickly. Blurry equals boring in our visual world.
At One Optics, it’s amazing to see the child’s vast improvement in their schoolwork and overall happiness with a proper diagnosis when this is the case. The difference is truly astonishing.
In the rush of everyday life, it’s so easy as parents to miss these signs as most of them mimic typical child behaviour but the key to determining if there is a problem is the frequency with which you observe your child exhibiting these signs.
Remember, dear parents, that 80% of all your children’s learning in the classroom is visual.
The best gift you can give your children is to ensure they are seeing their world as it should be seen-very clearly. They may not be able to report these problems to you as they may not even know that they have a visual impairment so we must be on the lookout for those signs that something is amiss. If you have not gotten your children’s eyes tested, we here at One Optics are always happy to answer any of your questions. We love seeing our little patients the most as they bring us so much joy!
