This is part 1 of a 2 part series on eye care and small children. This is close to my heart because I started wearing glasses when I was 6 years old. Contacts from middle school onward, and I still wear both contacts and glasses. When I was contacted by the Think About Your Eyes campaign, I was very interested.
When your children are small, they aren’t able to tell you there is a problem. And really, it’s always been there, they probably think it’s normal anyway. Parents take their little ones for well checks and to the dentist even though there are no teeth issues, but for some reason they don’t seem to take their kids to the eye doctor unless there’s an obvious issue like lazy eye.
Eyesight is one of those things that you don’t appreciate until you start losing it. My husband has good eyesight and I have poor eyesight (along with the rest of my family) so I want to be sure and do what I can to promote good care around here and not wait until they are actually making their vision worse by straining so much.
The Think About Your Eyes campaign makes a very interesting point that I had never thought of: most parents actually prioritize replaceable baby teeth before irreplaceable vision. Wow. And according to their studies, 84% of parents wait on their children to tell them it’s time to go to the eye doctor. But if your children have only ever had poor eyesight what do they have to compare it with?
Here are some effects of poor eyesight on your little ones that you may not have linked up yet.
1. No interest in detailed activities.
If children can’t see well, it stands to reason they don’t want to do detailed activities. Not because they don’t have the required motor skills (although they may lack these too as a result), but because they just can’t see it. Not wanting to color, do puzzles, or do detailed crafts can be a sign of poor eyesight. Alone it may only signal a child who isn’t interested in sitting still for long, but coupled with other symptoms may be a sign to make an appointment.
2. Headaches.
Straining to see day in and day out will inevitably cause headaches. Headaches cause crankiness, difficulty in focusing, and trouble sleeping. It’s a bad cycle that can often go uninterrupted because the child doesn’t know the root of the headaches, nor does the parent. I often wonder if my kids have headaches when they are acting mysteriously fussy, but can attest firsthand to how difficult it is wearing outdated prescriptions or trying to go without my contacts or glasses. I can’t see a thing and it hurts to try.
3. Clumsiness.
Is your toddler or preschooler clumsy? Blurred vision or inability to see details well can obviously result in some trips, scrapes, and accidents. Are they bumping into corners and walls or stepping in things on accident?
4. Difficulty being outside or in bright rooms.
There are obviously some sensory issues attached to difficulty handling a lot of light. That’s a separate issue altogether, but if your child squints all the time and is unable to open their eyes or focus well in bright rooms or on sunny days, it could be a sign they need their eyes checked.
5. Lack of coordination.
If your child seems fairly coordinated but is unable to aim, hit baseballs, or throw to a target it could be a clue to look closer. Of course little ones won’t be all-stars since they haven’t had the time to develop those skills, but if they seem unable to do things that require hand eye and hand foot coordination then that, coupled with the other symptoms, might be a clue to look further.
Even if your child is not displaying signs of vision problems, it’s a good idea to take them to the doctor just to be sure all is well and to practice prevention and early intervention. However, if your toddler or preschooler exhibits many of these symptoms you most definitely need to get it checked out.
- holds books very close to head
- squints and blinks often
- covers or closes one eye to focus
- difficulty visually tracking
- headaches
- cross-eyed
- eyes see to flutter and blink more than normal
- eyes look cloudy
- bulging eyes
- rubbing eyes frequently
- tils head often
Since summer is here…
Since summer is here it’s a good idea to get your kids sunglasses. They’ll think they are cool and their eyes will be protected. When shopping for sunglasses be sure to look for the UVA/UVB sticker. Also, for kids you can get shades that have adjustable straps which are helpful if they are out on the boat or beach and are moving around fairly quickly. I’ll be back within a few weeks with tips on how to prepare your kids for an eye exam. I mean, you know, since smaller kids may not know the alphabet up and down. :)
To find an eye doctor near you and for more interesting information (like how 1 in 4 children actually have undiagnosed vision related conditions) visit Think About Your Eyes and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
We recently had a baby, so I’m grateful that you posted this article, Rachel. I think it’s important that we’re maintaining our children’s eye health. If my kid ever experiences some of the symptoms of poor eyesight, I’ll be sure to take him into an optometrist.
Lily de Grey |
Yes it wasn’t until I saw this campaign info that I realized my 3 year old so might actually have eye issues. We are going ASAP!
This was an informative article. I’m especially thankful for the part about protecting little eyes with sunglasses! We never go anywhere without them! It took some work, but even my 19 month old wears his every time. I’m really hoping I win the giveaway. :) Thank you.
Oh good luck! Mine love sunglasses too!
Have you heard of infantsee.org? It provides a free comprehensive eye exam for infants between 6-12 months at participating optometrists. I did it with both my daughters and it’s amazing how much they can check on babies. They also tell you about what to be on the lookout for and when you should bring them next baring any concerns.
No honestly I’d NEVER heard of this, but am so glad you commented and spoke of it I’m going to go look it up now!
Recently my oldest daughter has been complaining about headaches. At first, I didn’t think too much about it, but now she’s had one almost every day for the last few weeks. It seems to me that it may be due to the fact that she needs to get glasses soon. Especially since she always has a hard time when lights are really bright, it sounds like both of these are fairly good indicators that her eyes are getting worse. I will be sure to take her into an optometrist soon to see if she needs to get glasses!
Julie, I think you’re probably spot on! I think my son may be sensitive to light and an appointment is in the works for him too.
When I was a child, I experienced frequent headaches like you described. I noticed my daughter had the same problems when she went to school. I initially thought it was an excuse to not go to school until your post reminded me that she may need to see an eye doctor. I’ll schedule an appointment to get her eyes checked this week.
I totally think bad eyesight will throw things off! I know one of my friends couldn’t see red on the white board (funnily enough) and she could only see what was being written in another color. She couldn’t follow the lecture if she couldn’t read the notes.
Yes, getting your children’s eyes checked is so important! I went a couple years holding books too close and squinting constantly before my parents took me to an optometrist. Turns out all I needed was a simple prescription and I was good to go, but it would have been much easier if I’d gotten an eye exam earlier. Thanks for your great advice!
I appreciate your advice about taking children to an optometrist. My wife and I have a little 2-year-old daughter, and I’ve wondered if we should take her to get her eyes checked. While I haven’t noticed any of the signs you mentioned, I think we should maybe take her just in case. Thanks for the information!
kyle, I’m with you! Better take them now then wait until there’s a problem.
This is a great list of problems that are solved by getting your eyes checked. Although your list is specifically for kids, I think that these issues could apply to anybody who hasn’t gotten their eyes checked. That being said, it surprised me that an eye exam could help relieve headaches. You talk about how straining to see causes headaches, which could contribute to trouble sleeping and crankiness. I never would have thought that the solution for these things would be the eye doctor. This was great insight– thank you for sharing!
Children can be so self conscious especially when it comes to what other people think about them. So the five item list you give of the things that an eye exam can fix would help prevent some children from unneeded embarrassment. Especially number 3, clumsiness, every child want to be able to do everything his friends do so if all the child needs is an exam then why not take him in?
Optometry seems like it is not always a priority for people, but to us it is extremely important. We want to make sure that we notice anything abnormal with our children’s eyes early on, and this is a great little list of things to watch out for. Our daughter has been getting a few more headaches than usual, and we are thinking that it may be related to her eyesight. We will find the right optometrist and get this diagnosed as soon as possible.
There really are so many different problems that can be solved by taking kids to the eye doctor. There really are so many children out there that struggle with headaches and a lack of focus just because they have problems with their eyes. That is just one reason why it is so important for you to take your kids to the eye doctor annually. This can really help your kids a lot when it comes to school.
Wow, I had no idea that going to an eye doctor could help my son out with his eyes so much. It has been a struggle for my son to go on a regular basis. But now that I know this, I’ll make sure I show him this and let him know how important it is that he goes.
I like how you list the symptoms of poor eyesight. I feel like all too often we look over things like this just because we don’t have the proper information. Especially with clumsiness, it seems like every child is a little clumsy, so that can be a hard one to recognize. It’s always better to be safe than sorry and take your kids to the eye doctor.
My mom is a nurse for an optometrist, and she loves it. She is always talking about how important it is for people, especially kids, to get their eyes checked on a regular basis. This article proves my moms point, and it should be taken seriously.
That is interesting that headaches can be caused by eye problems! I will be sure to have my kids get their eyes checked soon! Hopefully I can find some good opticians in my area.
Our little boy has told us a few times that his head hurts. I wonder if it’s because he needs glasses? My wife needs glasses so maybe it runs in the family? We will have to set up a visit with the optometrist to see if he will need glasses. Hopefully it’ll help his headaches. Thanks for your help!
This is some great information, and I appreciate your point that a child disinterested in detailed activities could have poor eyesight. My son has loved coloring, but my daughter hasn’t shown any interest in it, and there are a few other related activities she avoids. I’ll definitely look into getting her to an optometrist for an eye exam to see if that’s what the problem is. Thanks for the great post!
My daughter literally trips every 5 minutes. We run out of band-aids weekly. I hadn’t ever considered her clumsiness related to her eyesight. Now I can take her to the eye doctor and get it fixed. She probably won’t be happy if she needs glasses but I’ll be happy she isn’t hurting herself all the time, thanks.
I am going to be a new parent in May with a little girl. Be a good a protective father I am looking up everything and anything. I didn’t know that clumsiness can be due to blurred vision so getting them eyeglasses can help that. That is good to know and something I will keep my eye out for when my daughter is older.
I didn’t realize that bad eyesight can cause headaches. I have never dealt with bad eyesight in my life, so I don’t really know the symptoms. My son has been complaining about having headaches and not being able to see the board when he’s in the back of the class, so I’ll have to have him checked out.
It’s great that you mentioned that you should take your child to get an eye exam even though there is nothing wrong. I think that’s an easy mistake to make. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
In your article, you stated that if children can’t see well, it stands to reason they don’t want to do detailed activities and not because they don’t have the required motor skills (although they may lack these too as a result), but because they just can’t see it. My daughter has been coming home from school very upset because she has been having a lot of issues seeing things at school. I wonder if the eye exam for children is any different than the eye exam for adults.
Excellent feature article. Indeed, kids eye health also covers their critical growth and development. Technical intervention must be used carefully or sparingly in view of the natural tendency for sight to still improve.
You mentioned that going to the eye doctor can help with headaches since straining all day can cause then inevitably. That is something that I’ll have to keep in mind for my youngest. He has been complaining about headaches quite a bit so I wonder if it has something to do with his eyesight. I’ll have to call an eye doctor and see what they suggest. Hopefully, we can get to the bottom of his problem! Thanks for sharing!
It is always important to get your child’s eyes checked early on to prevent future problems.
Thank you for pointing out that if your child is complaining of headaches you should get their eyes checked as soon as possible. My daughter is 6 and has been complaining about headaches a lot lately. I’ll have to look into eye doctors in my area that we can take her to. Hopefully, we can find one soon and get everything resolved.
Recently I’ve noticed that my daughter has been falling a lot more than usual. Thank you for pointing out that blurred vision can result in falls like these. I’ll have to look into some eye doctors in the area and find the best one to take my little girl to.