How to Know if Your Child Needs Glasses
What makes knowing whether your child needs glasses difficult is the fact that children cannot fully recognize or communicate changes in their vision. On top of that, it is estimated that many children have undetected vision problems and do not receive proper eye care.
Your child may have refractive errors and you may not be aware. Our visual system develops until we reach 8 years of age, and some of us need help for ensuring proper development.
The Warning Signs
Our children cannot communicate like adults, but if you carefully observe their behavior you may find signs for vision problems.
Here are the most common warning signs:
1. Headaches
This is a common warning signs for refractive errors. If your child gets easily tired and has headaches or eye pain, it is because extra effort is put for focusing or seeing certain objects.
2. Light Sensitivity
Focus on the reaction that your child has when you go outside on a sunny day. If your child experiences eye pain or if it takes long time adapting, then he or she probably needs glasses.
3. Eye Rubbing
Eye rubs aren’t that unusual for children unless they are frequent and accompanied by fatigue and nausea. This can be warning signs for pink eye, refractive errors or blurry vision.
4. Difficulties at School
Your child’s bad school performance may be caused by vision issues. If you notice difficulties while concentrating, reading and writing such as skipping lines and letter misalignment then a visit to the eye doctor is a must. Also ask the teacher if the child tilts its head while looking at the class board. This is also common for children with vision problems.
5. The Way of Watching TV
A good way to recognize if your child needs glasses is observing its behavior while watching TV or other digital screens. You must visit the doctor if your child sits to close to the TV, shuts one eye to see better or get easily tired after watching.
When to See an Optometrist
The optometrist will prescribe glasses or lenses for your child if it has issues like misalignment, poor vision, difficulties in vision development and a lazy eye. Children which have lazy or crossed eyes must wear glasses for their eye muscles to gain strength. Wearing glasses in these cases may fix the problem early on and ensure your child has a life with proper vision.
Other than vision problem warning signs, another thing you must look out for is genetics. If you or your partner had vision issues as children then the chances are bigger that your child has them too. Going to the optometrist will clear things up and put your mind at ease. With adequate eye care and treatment, some conditions can disappear after puberty and some can be stopped from further development.
About New Optical Palace
New Optical Palace is your Optician and Optometrist in the Kitchener and Waterloo Area. We offer eye exams for adults and children and a wide selection of prescription glasses for your prescription, contact lenses, and sunglasses.