Importance of Back to School Eye Exams
Each year, children are encouraged and often required to receive a physical before returning for the new school year. While physicals are important and should occur annually, an examination that we often overlook is back to school eye exams. Your child’s eye health is vital, especially during the years when their eyes are still developing. Even if you haven’t noticed any concerns or your kids haven’t complained of difficulty seeing, you should still have an eye exam each year. That way you can get a comprehensive look at their overall eye health and vision. Let’s take a look at the importance of back to school eye exams for children.
Eye Exams Can Detect What You Cannot
If your child is complaining about not being able to see clearly or if you have noticed them squinting while reading, these are some signs that they may need an exam. However, some vision concerns are not so easy to recognize and can only be detected through an eye exam. Common vision concerns that can occur during childhood include farsightedness, astigmatism, lazy eye, or poor depth perception. Having regularly scheduled eye exams will help detect these issues and correct them while the child is still young.
Nearsightedness is Common in Children
Nearsightedness is a result of a misshapen cornea or eye. It is very common in children and will typically develop around the age of seven. If you do not catch nearsightedness and treat it early, it can cause significant vision problems that will only worsen over time. And, this type of vision problem will certainly affect your child’s learning and performance in the classroom. Children need to be able to accurately see their teachers and visuals to effectively learn and digest information. This can be a problem for children who are nearsighted and are not currently receiving treatment.
Vision Problems Can Lead to Other Problems
There are also other issues and concerns that can occur as a direct result of vision problems. As mentioned above, your child could start performing poorly in school and miss information that is essential to their learning. Poor vision can also lead to squinting, headaches, blurry vision, and overall frustration for your child. All of these concerns are sure to affect your child both in school and in everyday life.
Make sure that you add back to school eye exams to your To-Do list. Eye exams are quick and painless and are just as important as other yearly physical exams. Scheduling an exam will ensure your child has the best chance of performing well in school and other facets of life.
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