With schools set to start again imminently, now’s the perfect time to ensure your child’s eyes are in good health and their prescriptions are up to date. With good vision being such an important part of the learning process, we recommend the following family eyecare tips to give your child the best chance of success at school.
Poor eyesight might not be the most obvious cause of some common behaviours. While your child squinting, holding a book/screen close to their face, or sitting close to the TV, are relatively easy to spot, other actions may go unnoticed.
Trouble with reading could indicate an issue with vision. Frequent headaches, short attention span, rubbing eyes or having sore eyes could indicate vision problems. Children may not know any different, so might not be able to communicate that they’re having issues.
A healthy diet can go a long way in keeping a child’s body and eyes in good shape. Consuming a rich and varied diet allows access to a wide range of nutrients that are necessary for development. For eyes, vitamins A, C and E, and omega 3 fatty acids, are important – found in citrus fruits, nuts, beans, green leafy vegetables, and carrots.
A lot of bacteria can be picked up by the hands and then passed onto the eyes, so teaching children about hand hygiene from an early age will help their eye health too.
It has been suggested that constant focus on screens at close distance can contribute to the development of short-sightedness (myopia). With screens becoming a more popular medium for learning, it’s important that screen time is limited as well as scheduling breaks during extended periods of use to allow eyes to adjust and refocus.
The 20-20-20 rule is a good place to start with this while they’re using screens – simply tell your child to take a break every 20 minutes and look at something that is 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
Letting your child help in the frame selection process could be the difference to them wearing their glasses or not. There are other considerations too, and our expert dispensing opticians will be on hand to advise you on the best glasses for your child’s vision and lifestyle.
We can’t stress the importance of regular eye tests for children. Doing so means any issues can be found and treated earlier. Eyesight problems like squints or a ‘lazy eye’ need to be corrected as early on as possible to avoid them becoming permanent in adulthood, while the rate of short sightedness can be slowed down with MiYOSMART – our special glasses lenses – which can help their eye health greatly in the long term.
Why not contact us to book your children’s eye tests at our local and experienced opticians practices in Dorset Somerset and Greater London as soon as possible if they’re due?