How to Know if Your Child Needs Glasses

Undiagnosed and unaddressed vision issues can negatively impact a child's life. Besides affecting academic performance, vision problems can cause a decline in a child's overall quality of life. 

 

Understanding eye health in kids will help you recognize signs that may indicate your child needs corrective eyewear. A child's visual system continues to develop during the first seven or eight years of life. Sometimes, eyeglasses may be necessary for normal visual development. 

 

Why Kids Wear Glasses

Children wear eyeglasses for various reasons, such as:

 

• To improve vision

• Improve the position of their eyes in case of misaligned or crossed eyes

• Strengthen eyesight in a weak or lazy eye

• Protection in case of poor vision in one eye
  
   

Signs Your Child Needs Glasses

You want your children to enjoy life and have every chance at happiness and success. You want them to do well in school and engage in activities that will stretch their body and mind. You also want them to have good relationships in and out of school. 

Your child's eye health plays a huge role in this and thus must be your priority. Since young children cannot communicate effectively or describe their vision problems, it may take years for their parents to realize something is wrong. Thus, it is important to recognize common childhood symptoms of poor vision. Some of these include:

Squinting

If your little one feels a need to squint to see better, either up-close or far away, it is likely a sign of a refractive error. Squinting can temporarily improve the clarity of the object your child is looking at, compensating for the inability to see clearly. 

Covering One Eye to Focus on Something

Does your child cover one eye in an attempt to increase clarity? If so, that might be a sign of astigmatism, lazy eye, eye misalignment, or extreme sensitivity to light. These are common eye disorders in kids.

Frequent Nausea or Headaches

Does your child need to make an extra effort to see clearly or bring objects into focus? Unfortunately, trying to see clearly can cause frequent headaches or even nausea. Schedule an appointment with your optometrist if your child is experiencing frequent headaches or nausea, particularly in settings like school. 

Frequent Eye Rubbing

Kids usually rub their eyes due to extensive straining while trying to read, leading to eyestrain or fatigue. Eye rubbing might also indicate allergic conjunctivitis or dry eyes. 

 

Sitting Too Close to the TV or Whiteboard

Does your child habitually need to sit close to the television or blackboard? If so, that is a sign of myopia. Your little one might need glasses to correct this refractive error.

 

Other common childhood signs of poor eyesight include:

 

• Struggling to read

• Clumsiness

• Excessive tearing

• Eye pain

• Difficulty concentrating on schoolwork
  
   

If you suspect your child has a vision problem, schedule an appointment with your eye doctor as soon as possible. The doctor will diagnose the problem and recommend the most effective solution. In most cases, prescription eyeglasses will correct the issue.

For more information on signs your child may need glasses, contact Special Eye Care at our Camp Springs, Maryland office. Call (301) 298-3241 to schedule an appointment today.