Pediatrics

With So Much Learning at Stake,
an Eye Exam Should Be the First Thing on Your Child’s Back-to-School List

Studies show that “Eighty percent of learning in the first twelve years of life comes through our eyes.” What makes me think of this at this particular time is that soon, school will begin again.

I can’t stress enough the importance of having your children’s eyes checked at an early age because, while some vision deficiencies are accompanied by symptoms that signal there is a problem, other times there are no outward symptoms. Children with uncorrected vision problems or eye health issues face many difficulties, not only academically, but socially and athletically. The longer these go untreated, the more a child’s brain learns to accommodate the vision problem.

We have discovered times when children struggle in school and are labeled with learning disabilities when they really have eye disorders. We have also corrected children’s sight who didn’t know their deficiency existed and who thought that their distorted vision was normal. And then there are those children who are afraid to be different and so don’t complain.

While your child may not need glasses, he or she still needs to be examined for other health issues of the eye, including tumors, juvenile cataracts or glaucoma and other sight-threatening problems not readily noticeable.

Between their annual eye exams, there are behaviors you can watch for that may signal a problem, such as moving closer to the television or computer screen, holding books close to their faces, squinting or covering one eye with their hand, and leaning or turning their heads to one side to look at something.

It is important to understand that, while vision screenings may be done by your pediatrician or at your child’s school, these are not complete eye exams. These screenings can indicate possible vision problems, but will often miss sight-threatening
eye conditions.

At Cape Coral Eye Center, we welcome children as young as age four, and encourage you to have your children’s eyes checked regularly. You can make it a family affair!