Kids mostly depend on their eyes to learn about the things around them. This is why iSee VisionCare emphasize the need for taking care of their eyes. One of the first things you can do is to be familiar with eye strain and other signs of vision problems in children.
Here are some of them:
Your Child Refuses to Participate in Close-Range Activities
This may indicate that your child is having a hard time seeing up-close, a classic sign of farsightedness or hyperopia. This is a refractive error that causes difficulties seeing nearby objects, while your child may have no problem viewing things from afar. It can be corrected by wearing prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses.
Your Children Are Often Irritable
Binocular vision dysfunction (BVD) happens when one of your child’s eyes points in a different direction than the other eye. As a result, varying image signals are sent to the brain, causing confusion. To compensate, your eye muscles work hard to realign the eyes. The added stress, however, may cause eye strain, headaches and even dizziness. This is why kids with BVD are often fussy and have short attention spans.
Your Kids Often Lose Their Place When Reading
It’s normal for children to use their fingers as a guide when reading. That said, they should eventually grow out of this habit once their accommodation and focusing skills are developed. This is why most schools require vision screenings to check that kids’ visual development is on track, ensuring their continuous learning. Your eye care specialist may perform a comprehensive eye exam if your child is found at risk of developing eyesight errors or if signs of such problems were already detected.
Your Children Complain of Hurting Eyes After Watching TV
In this digital age, it’s rare to see kids who are not holding a device. Using laptops or watching television for too long, however, may easily tire out their eyes, resulting in computer vision syndrome. Also referred to as digital eye strain, this is the visual discomfort your child may feel after staring at a screen for some time. Create a viewing or playing schedule to ensure your kids regularly rest their eyes.
To learn more signs of vision problems in kids, call us at (561) 733-9008 or complete our form. We serve different FL areas, including Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth.
Dr. Erin Sonneberg
Dr. Erin Sonneberg, OD, received her Doctor of Optometry degree from New England School of Optometry in Boston, Massachusetts in 2004. She completed her undergraduate studies at City University of New York, Queens College in 2000, where she graduated with honors in business. Dr. Sonneberg relocated to Boynton Beach, Florida, in 2006, and has been practicing alongside prestigious ophthalmologists in the area since that time.
