Vision problems left undetected can affect your child’s performance in and out of the classroom. Hence, it is essential to learn and understand eye health to recognize the symptoms that your child may have a vision problem and might need glasses.
In some cases, glasses may be essential to help normal visual development. During the first seven to eight years of life, the optical system in a child is still developing hence the need to watch out for these symptoms. Look for the following signs in your child to establish whether they need glasses.
1. Rubbing Eyes Excessively
Too much eye rubbing might indicate your child is experiencing eye strain or fatigue. This can signify many types of vision conditions and problems, including allergic conjunctivitis. Ensure your child gets checked to prevent more severe eye problems.
2. Squinting
This may be a sign that your child has a refractive error which affects how well the eyes focus on an image. Your child tries to improve the clarity and focus of an object temporarily. This might make it difficult for a child to pay attention since they struggle to see an image. This is especially difficult if the kids learn using a board. Your child will have to put in so much effort to see, which can be frustrating. Ensure your child gets glasses prescribed by an eye doctor to make concentration easier.
3. Complaints Of Headaches And Pain In The Eyes
If your child keeps complaining about headaches and eye pain at the end of every day, this shows that they might be overexerting the eyes to improve the focus of blurred vision. This means your child cannot see anything in or out of the classroom, which can be risky. If your child suffers from blurred vision, they should get glasses as prescribed by the doctor to help them navigate their day-to-day activities.
4. Head Tilting Or Covering One Eye
This might be an attempt to improve the angle of vision to increase image clarity. It clearly indicates that your kids’ eyes are misaligned or that they have amblyopia, also called the lazy eye. This is a pervasive eye disorder in children and can is manageable by getting the right pair of glasses as prescribed by a physician.
5. Difficulty Concentrating On School Work
Children must adapt their visual focus from quite a distance to near and on several objects ranging from computers, chalkboards, tablets, and textbooks. Vision problems are a lack of interest in schoolwork. Before you lash out at a child for not performing in classwork, it is advisable to try and get to the bottom of the problem.
Your child or their teacher are the people who can tell you what could be the problem. It doesn’t always have to be an attitude problem, but sometimes your child suffers from vision difficulties.
6. Holding Hand-held Devices Too Close To The Eyes Or Sitting Too Close To The Television
This and lowering the head while reading are all known symptoms of poor vision. This affects people with myopia, also called nearsightedness, where they have clear vision at a close range but impaired vision at a distance. The more you bring the object closer, the more it becomes apparent and more prominent.
2 Comments
Great article. I think my daughter may need glasses!
As an adult who went through my late childhood/ teenage years needing glasses and not getting them, I appreciate this article!