Help your child see their best so they can learn their best
You want to give your child the best education possible. But how well they learn depends on how well they can see. That’s why it’s important to have their vision checked at the beginning of each school year.
Kids need regular eye checks because they’re still growing, says SBH Health System Director of Optometry Rebecca Moran, OD. In fact, vision doesn’t fully develop until around age 7. That means, even if your child already has glasses, they may need an updated prescription each year. Or they may need glasses this year even if they didn’t need them last year.
Getting kids glasses while they’re young is important, Dr. Moran says. Kids who have vision problems that aren’t treated before age 7 can end up with poor eyesight that’s permanent.
It’s also important to know that kids aren’t always the best at explaining problems with their vision. “They may say they see fine, but when they come in for their exam, they can’t read the largest letters on the test,” Dr. Moran says.
Signs your child may need glasses
Some kids may be able to tell you that the board at school looks blurry or that the words in a book aren’t clear. But others may think the way they see is the way everyone else sees and not realize it’s a problem. In these cases, there are some signs to look for that may mean it’s time to take your child to an eye doctor.
Some of these include:
• Squinting
• Eye rubbing
• Turning their head often to look at something
• Not wanting to read or saying their head hurts when they do read
Our eye experts can help
While there are many benefits of regular eye exams, the main one is helping your child see better.
Glasses can help kids with all sorts of vision problems, from correcting alignment to treating nearsightedness (called myopia) or astigmatism (a common problem that means the shape of the eye is more curved than it should be).
“When kids need a prescription for glasses, they need it,” Dr. Moran says. “We wouldn’t give it to them if they didn’t need it. You want your child to wear their glasses so they can see their best and, therefore, learn their best.”