Back to school! Good Vision and Overall Eye Health Are Vital To Learning

Back-to-school time is just around the corner, and the scramble to buy school clothes and new pencils, backpacks and notebooks has begun. We’d like to take a moment to remind busy parents not to neglect one of the most important learning tools: their children’s eyes.

Good vision and overall eye health are vital to learning. Heartland Eye Care would like to do our part in emphasizing the importance of healthy vision to academic success during Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month in August.

Because children are still growing, being vigilant about eye health is important. The earlier problems are identified, the sooner they can be addressed. For children to maintain healthy eyes and vision throughout the school year, we recommend the following four tips:

1. Get regular childhood vision screenings – Children’s eyes are changing rapidly. Making regular vision screening visits with your optometrist is an important step in detecting and correcting eye problems early on. In addition to screenings for infants, further vision screening are recommended for children when they are:
   • Pre-school age, between age 3 and 3 ½
   • Entering school
   • Experiencing a possible vision problem
2. Know and share your family eye health history – Everyone should find out whether eye conditions or diseases run in their family. Parents should share that information with the person performing the screening when possible. Examples of common eye conditions include nearsightedness, crossed eye (known as strabismus) and lazy eye (known as amblyopia).

If these are not treated early on, they could lead to future vision loss in one or both eyes.

3. Watch for signals of eye problems – Parents should be alert to symptoms that could indicate an eye or vision problem, such as complaints of eyestrain, headaches and squinting when reading or performing other common activities. Other symptoms to look for include a white or grayish-white coloring in the pupil, one eye that turns in or out, or eyes that do not track in sync together.

4. Wear protective eyewear when playing sports – Eye injuries while playing sports can cause serious damage, whether by getting smacked with an elbow during basketball or hit with a hockey stick. If your child plays racket sports, hockey, field hockey, baseball or basketball, consider having them wear goggles or other certified protective eyewear.

All-in-all, vision is very important to children’s learning abilities. Although we don’t see children at Heartland Eye Care we have so many great optometrists that we work with. We would be glad to help you find the right one for your children.

We hope this article was helpful! Have a fun and safe time getting your kids BACK TO SCHOOL!

At Heartland Eye Care, Clear Vision Is Our Mission