Is your child’s explanation of poor grades in school is that they could not read the board? Do you see your kid struggle while reacting with speed in certain games? You should not underestimate these symptoms of eye problems. Experts believe that kids often develop eye health issues like blurred vision, astigmatism, near-sightedness, etc., in their formative years.
An expert eye doctor can only recommend the solution. They might need to wear eyeglasses to see or to protect the growth of their eyesight. Check out the 8 common symptoms indicating that a child needs eyeglasses.
1. Tilting Head or Watching With One Eye Closed.
If your child is tilting their head while watching TV or anything else of their interest, they might not be able to focus from a certain angle. Closing one eye to see clearly also indicates a focal problem. There is also a possibility that one of their eyes is week.
2. Pain in Eyes or Headache
Your kid complaining of pain in the eye or the head is a sign of an eye health issue. In case of blurred vision, the eyes need to strain to focus on objects. Their eyes might be exhausted by focusing all day. The headache can also be a consequence of eye fatigue.
3. Watching TV From a Close Proximity
Is your child sitting or standing too close to the TV? Do you see them taking an eye pad or mobile screen closer to their nose? All these can be signs of near-sightedness. In this condition, children can see close objects clearly but can’t focus on things that are distant from them.
4. Extreme Tearing
Lag ophthalmus is one of the most irritating and painful eye problems. In this condition, kids don’t close their eyelids completely while sleeping at night. This results in excessive tearing of their eyes in the morning. Thus, ophthalmus can cause your kids to complain of poor vision due to the tearing of their eyes.
5. Sensitivity in Eyes
If your child is not comfortable in bright daylight, he or she might be facing light sensitivity in the eyes. They may also have problems with suddenly switching on lights in a room. They might complain of an average lit area being too bright.
6. Squinting of Eyes
Does your child often squint to see clearly? Squinting is an indication of a refractive disorder. This is an error in the eyes, which makes it difficult to focus on anything. In this case, your child squints to improve their focus temporarily.
7. Always Finger Pointing While Reading
Sometimes all kids point fingers while reading. But if your child cannot read without finger-pointing, it can be a sign of amblyopia. This vision issue makes it difficult for your kid to recognize the distance between words. There can also be other vision problems responsible for this habit.
8. Notification From School After an Eye Exam
Schools held eye exams regularly. Although volunteers and not an eye doctor conduct these exams, their results can’t be ignored. A sure sign that your kid is having eye problems is failing a school eye exam. It would be best if you act on it immediately.
Plan of Action if Your Child Shows Symptoms of Eye Problems
If you find any of the above symptoms in your child, you should take them to an eye health professional. An optometrist is a qualified eye doctor who can identify and resolve all kinds of eye problems in your child. Even if your child is not old enough to read letters, they can detect blurred vision or astigmatism with a retinoscope.
Thus parents should take their kids for their first eye exam at the age of 3. If the eye doctor can detect a vision issue early, they can treat it more effectively. The doctor can prescribe eyeglasses if your kids need to wear eyeglasses. Wearing them will improve your kid’s performance in school, arts, and games.
You don’t need to stress if your child needs eyeglasses to see appropriately. Eye problems in childhood are prevalent. Eyeglasses are essential for their academic and overall growth as well. It would help if you always let them choose their favorite color frame and shape. This way they will enjoy wearing glasses.
