Eye issues of preschoolers

Preschool children can be fine-tuning the vision when they master the complex ability of hand-eye coordination. They can ride bicycles in the right direction they want to go while dealing with pedal and steer. For some old preschoolers, they also play more sophisticated sports. Though preschool children who have already developed their vision during infant and toddle years, they are vulnerable to vision problems if they don’t correct some bad habits. This period is critical for developing visual system healthy and fully in the following years. Parents must pay enough attention to children’s eye care at this stage.

Several signs warning a vision problem

You should make sure whether your children have the following refractive errors. Your kids may be used to sit too close to the TV set and sometimes they just close one eye to watch. Some children prefer reading at close range, which can also lead to nearsightedness. Behaviors like squinting and tilting the head to see better are warning signs. Excessive tearing and light sensitivity are indicating signals as well. Detecting any of these above situations, it is essential to schedule an appointment with your eye care practitioner.

Possible vision problems in pre-school children

Vision problems such as farsightedness, nearsightedness and astigmatism are very common in preschool children. Nearsightedness in little children is quite probably caused by excessive TV watching. Kids with this vision condition can not see objects far away clearly. What’s more, excessive farsightedness can lead to strabismus. For severe cross-eyed kids, a surgery is needed. And untreated strabismus may even cause amblyopia and eventually blindness. In general, nearsightedness and astigmatism require proper vision correction with glasses. Vision blurriness caused by these two problems will certainly affect preschool children’s study in the following years.

Preschool eye exams help detect vision problems

As children’s visual system is flexible and elastic at the preschool stage, it is very necessary for children to take a complete eye exam before they enter school. Generally, children should receive an eye exam by the age of 6 months to check whether they have any vision problems or some refractive errors according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). If your kids require correction for nearsightedness, farsightedness or strabismus, you’d better to arrange an exam every year. Annual prescription changes of eyeglasses or contact lenses are very common in children.

The eye exam should be comprehensive

Another important aspect is that you should make sure that the eye exam on your children is a comprehensive one. A simplest eye exam can only be eye chart reading. This is far from comprehensive. Checking a child’s visual system requires much more work. The truth is that sometimes simple screenings are not administered by eye care practitioners and may not reflect your kids’ eye condition correctly.

Necessary eyewear use by preschool children

Since the result of eye exams may be influenced by physical condition, it is unwise to visit an eye doctor when your kid is tired or hungry. After the eye exam, you also need to encourage them to wear eyeglasses in a proper way if an eye problem is already present. You should explain why they need to wear eyeglasses and give some specific examples if necessary. When choosing frames, you should respect your kids’ preference. In addition to right vision correction, you also need to pay attention to the comfort of the frame.