Why back to school season means back to the eye doctor

Why back to school season means back to the eye doctor

Back to school season is fast approaching, and while you are probably busy sorting out sports kits, stationery, and other equipment that your child will need for the new school year, you may have overlooked another important aspect of educational preparation – a visit to your pediatric optometrist.

All children are recommended to visit a pediatric optometrist on a fairly regular basis – ideally at least once every 12 months. While your child is still growing, their eyes are still developing, and this can cause changes to occur much more quickly than they would in adults. Regular appointments allow your pediatric optometrist to carefully and closely monitor your child’s eyes, enabling any issues to be detected quickly and before they have a significant impact on their day to day life.
 

Poor vision could compromise your child’s educational success

Visual learning accounts for as much as 80% of the learning process. Unsurprisingly, this means that if your child’s vision isn’t as clear as it could be, they could be missing out on vital elements of their education. In fact, studies have consistently linked below-average school performance to poor vision and visual disorders. Some children are inaccurately labeled as being slow to learn or having a learning disability of some kind when in actual fact, their poor vision is preventing them from learning effectively. This can lead to a range of further issues in school, such as difficulty interacting with their peers. Many children lose confidence in their ability and act out in class to avoid situations where they may be embarrassed by their vision problems – for example, misbehaving and being sent out of class to avoid reading out loud. Ultimately, undetected vision problems could severely compromise your child’s academic performance and educational success.
 

Myopia is a rising problem among children

Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is a condition where the patient can see close objects clearly but those that are farther away appear blurred. The number of children been diagnosed with myopia is increasing year on year. This is thought to be largely down to a combination of increased screen time and more time spent indoors. Myopia is progressive, which means that if it isn’t detected fairly quickly, it can become significantly worse. Nearsightedness has been shown to progress particularly rapidly between the ages of 11 and 13. This means that your child’s eyesight – and any prescription that they need – may change multiple times during this period. Some treatments can actually slow or even halt the progression of myopia, which could help your child to avoid high prescriptions and some of the known complications of high myopia in the future. These include cataracts, glaucoma, and retinal detachment.
 

Eye exams will assess all of the visual skills your child needs

Children and adults alike need a range of strong visual skills to help them function day-to-day. Without them, even some of the basic tasks that we encounter such as negotiating steps or gauging the speed at which something is moving may be difficult or impossible. When you take your child to visit your pediatric optometrist for an eye exam, they will assess all of the visual skills that your child needs for both school and home. These include their:

• Near vision

• Distance vision

• Binocular coordination (both eyes working together)

• Eye movement skills

• Focusing skills

• Peripheral awareness

• Hand-eye coordination

These evaluations are carried out in addition to assessing the health and condition of your child’s eyes and their visual acuity, which will tell them whether or not your child would benefit from wearing prescription lenses.

Make sure your child is ready for a year of learning by scheduling a back to school visit with your pediatric optometrist today.