According to the Vision Health Initiative, 6.8 percent of children under the age of 18 have some type of diagnosed vision or eye condition.
While having poor vision isn’t the end of the world, it can seriously affect your child’s ability to learn. But, how do you know if your child needs glasses?
Check out this eye exams for children guide to learn the top signs that your child may need glasses.
1. Squinting, Covering, or Tilting
If a child suffers from poor vision, you’ll often see them squinting their eyes to better see what’s in front of them. Through squinting, a child is subconsciously trying to make their pupils smaller, which allows less light in and enhances their focus.
While squinting may help your child see slightly better, it’s not a long-term solution, so you should set up an appointment with an eye doctor if you notice squinting.
Some children will also cover one of their eyes or tilt their head in order to see better. Doing so can enhance clarity and eliminate double-vision, but again, it’s not a long-term solution for poor vision.
2. Poor School Performance or Reading Comprehension
Many parents begin to worry when their children start exhibiting poor performance in school or poor reading comprehension. But, before you rush to sign your kid up with a tutor, have their vision checked.
While it’s not always the case, sometimes, poor school performance is due to poor eyesight. Oftentimes, children are too afraid to speak up if they’re having trouble seeing the whiteboard or seeing what the teacher is presenting.
If you notice that your child’s grades are suffering, talk to them about what’s going and ask them how well they can the front of the classroom. Even if they say they can see everything fine, it’s still a good idea to set up an eye appointment just to make sure.
3. Eye Fatigue After Reading
Have you noticed that after reading, your child suffers from itchy, burning, or tired eyes? These are all symptoms of eye fatigue, which occurs when your child’s eyes work harder than normal to read the page in front of them.
Eye fatigue can cause your child to shy away from reading-related activities and fall behind on reading comprehension, so you definitely want to schedule an appointment with an eye doctor if you notice that your child is suffering from eye fatigue.
4. Holding Books or Electronics Too Close to Their Eyes
If your child is holding books, tablets, phones, or other electronics too close to their eyes, they may need glasses.
Typically, when a child is holding something very close to their eyes, it means they’re suffering from nearsightedness. An eye doctor can help diagnose the issue and get your child fitted for glasses.
Eye Exams for Children: Time to Schedule an Appointment
If any of these issues sound familiar, then there’s a good chance that your child may need glasses. The next step is to research eye doctors in your area so you can schedule eye exams for children.
If you’re looking for a children’s eye doctor in the Houston, Texas area, contact us today.
