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Get your preschooler's eyes tested
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World Sight Day (WSD) is an annual day of awareness to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment.
Good vision is incredibly important to young children, because so much of what they learn is taken in through their eyes.
But while we make a huge effort to make sure our children are vaccinated and have had other health checks before starting school, eye tests are often not done until a potential problem is highlighted… and depending on when this comes to light, it may be too late to correct.
According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), infants should have their first comprehensive eye exam at 6 months of age. Children then should receive additional eye exams at 3 years of age, and just before they enter kindergarten or the first grade at about age 5 or 6.
It's thought that one in four children have an undiagnosed vision problem. Not necessarily a serious one, but nevertheless one that could impact on their education and learning.
While most infants and pre-school children have regular vision screening as part of their routine developmental checks. These early checks are invaluable, but aren't as thorough as a full eye examination by a qualified optometrist, and may not pick up some fundamental issues that could lead to difficulty reading or learning.
Preschool Vision: 2 to 5 Years of Age
From ages 2 to 5, a child will be fine-tuning the visual abilities gained during infancy and developing new ones.
They will develop these abilities in many ways, such as drawing or looking at pictures and playing games.
Reading to and with young children is really important to help them develop strong visualization skills as they "picture" the story in their minds.
The preschool years are a time for developing the visual abilities that a child will need in school and throughout his or her life. Steps taken during these years to help ensure vision is developing normally can provide a child with a good "head start" for school.
Developing their first reading skills before school will help them hugely in the future, so the year before school is also the time when parents need to be alert for the presence of vision problems like crossed eyes, lazy eye, convergence issues or any other conditions which are mainly easily rectified – if identified early.
These conditions often develop at this age. Crossed eyes means that one or both eyes are turning inward or outward. Lazy eye is a lack of clear vision in one eye, which can't be fully corrected with eyeglasses. Lazy eye often develops as a result of crossed eyes, but may occur without noticeable signs.
Keep an eye out for any delays in development, because these may signal a vision problem or be the cause of it. Difficulty with recognition of colors, shapes, letters and numbers can occur if there is a vision problem.
Signs of Eye and Vision Problems
Preschool children will rarely communicate a problem with their eyes or even be able to recognize they have an issue. So it's really important for parents to look for signs that may indicate a vision problem.
Common indicators could be:
- Sitting close to the TV or holding a book too close
- Squinting
- Tilting their head
- Frequently rubbing their eyes
- Short attention span for the child's age
- Turning of an eye in or out
- Sensitivity to light
- Difficulty with eye-hand-body coordination when playing ball or bike riding
- Avoiding coloring activities, puzzles and other detailed activities
If you notice any of these signs in your preschooler, arrange for a visit to your eye specialist.
Go for the full eye exam
Children are often routinely screened (or given a basic eye test) in schools or by a pediatrician, but a screening is not the same as a comprehensive eye and vision examination by an optometrist and can't be used to diagnose an eye or vision problem, but rather may indicate a potential need for further evaluation.
They may miss as many as 60% of children with vision problems. Even if a vision screening does not identify a possible vision problem, a child may still have one, so it's important to take your child for a full eye examination, preferably before they start school.
How to help pre-school eye and vision development
Toys, games and playtime activities help by stimulating the process of vision development.
But children can still miss a step in vision development, despite your best efforts, which is why vision examinations at ages 3 and 5 are important to detect and treat these problems before a child begins school.
Here are several things that can be done at home to help your preschooler continue to successfully develop visual skills:
- Practice throwing and catching a ball
- Read aloud with your child, encouraging them to follow the words
- Provide a chalkboard or finger paints
- Encourage play activities requiring hand-eye coordination such as block building and assembling puzzles
- Play simple memory games like pairs or what's missing
- Provide opportunities to colour, cut and paste
- Make time for outdoor play including ball games, bike/tricycle riding, swinging and rolling activities
- Encourage interaction with other children
Your little one is more than likely to be completely fine, but just to be sure, in recognition of World Sight Day, book your preschooler in for an eye examination.
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