Looking out for your kid's eyes

Throughout the first year of life, as your child grows and develops so will
their vision. Your baby's eyes will be checked at birth and during
well-baby visits throughout the first year. All babies should receive an
infant eye exam. Babies usually see movement before anything else.
Full-term babies should be able to see their mother's facial expression
within a week of birth. Color vision and depth perception aren't yet fully
developed and eye muscle coordination is also very immature. Babies often
have eyes that are turned in, turned out or not working as a team, a
condition known as strabismus. If this problem doesn't resolve itself by
the age of three or four months, consult an eye care practitioner.

Between ages four and six months, your child should start to reach or bat
at the mobile or toys you hold in front of him. From six to eight months,
your child will roll over and may learn to crawl. From eight to 12 months,
your child may be crawling and walking. Encourage crawling rather than
early walking to help your child develop eye-hand coordination.

Preschool
>From ages 3 to 6, your child will be fine-tuning the vision already
developed during the infant and toddler years. Older preschoolers are
learning how to use sports equipment and working on the fine motor skills
needed to write their names. Watch for the warning signs of visual
problems, such as sitting too close to the TV or holding a book too close,
squinting, head tilting, eye rubbing and sensitivity to light.
Farsightedness and strabismus are common problems with this age group.
However, some problems might not have a sign; only an eye doctor can tell.
If your child exhibits no symptoms of a visual problem, he should have an
eye exam by the age of 3. Having a complete eye exam even before the child
enters school allows enough time to catch and correct any problems while
the visual system is still flexible.
If your pre-schooler needs glasses, make sure your child understands why.
Explain that he/she needs glasses to see clearly, and give specific
examples of the benefits, such as that he'll be able to see the words in
his books better or will be able to play catch with his brother because he
can now see the ball.

School days
School-age children should receive an eye exam before entering kindergarten
and regularly after that if they have no visual problems. If your child
requires glasses or contact lenses for refractive errors, schedule visits
every 12 months.
A vision screening performed by your pediatrician or the school nurse is
not a complete eye exam. These screenings are designed to alert parents to
the possibility of a visual problem and do not take the place of a visit to
the eye doctor. Studies even show that these screenings miss
sight-threatening eye conditions.
If a visual dysfunction is part of your child's learning difficulty,
special lenses or vision therapy may help. Should your child's visual
function not be an issue, ask your eye care practitioner for referrals to
the appropriate specialists. Visit your family doctor or pediatrician as
well for more information on diagnosing your child.


Kids will be kids...
Most childhood accidents occur at home, many with toys. Children spend a
great deal of time playing with their toys, so you need to make sure those
toys are safe for eyes. Avoid toys that shoot objects in the air, such as
slingshots, dart guns or arrows, for children under 6, and closely
supervise any child playing with such toys. If your older child plays with
a chemistry set or woodworking tools, give him or her safety goggles.
Sports-related eye injuries are topping 100,000 per year, and almost all
are preventable by protective eyewear. Children are especially vulnerable
to an eye injury because they don't know that their vision, and possibly a
lifetime of healthy vision, is at stake. For children, eye injuries happen
mainly while playing. They should wear eye protection for any sports and
recreational activities that uses a projectile or racket, involves rough
contact with other players, or requires travel at high speed. Ask your eye
care practitioner about the best eye protection for your child.
Undetected vision problems can lead to difficulties in school

According to research published in the Journal of Behavioral Optometry by
Roger Johnson, Ph.D. of Old Dominion University and Joel Zaba, M.A., O.D,
there is a significant relationship between undetected vision problems and
reading, learning and behavioral difficulties.
About 80% of learning in a child's first 12 years comes through the eyes.

Some children are labeled "learning disabled" or "trouble-makers," when all
they need is an eye exam and appropriate vision correction. Good vision is
fundamental to reading; it is vital to seeing such learning tools as the
chalkboard, visual aids and videos. In short, good vision is as essential
to learning as the ABC's.

Unlike a comprehensive exam, a simple vision screening — a distance vision
test using a Snellen chart — only identifies 5% of vision problems in
children, according to the American Foundation for Vision Awareness. While
these vision screenings are useful for offering an early indication of
problems relating to distance eyesight, they miss other critical vision
deficiencies that can impact a child's eye health, development and school
and learning performance.
However, a comprehensive eye exam measures a number of vis visual skills
that are critical to a child's healthy vision, such as using both eyes as a
team, the ability of the eyes to focus properly when reading a book, or
viewing a computer, and the ability of the eyes to move properly when
reading across a page of print.

"Making a child's first test a vision test will prepare children to enter
school ready to gain the knowledge and skills that will remain with them
their entire lives," said Dr. Zaba. "How well a child can see will have a
great impact on how much and/or how quickly they will learn."
Look for these five telltale signs of poor vision in your child:
1.    Squinting, closing or covering one eye; excessive blinking or rubbing of
the eyes
2.    Dislike and/or avoidance of close work; short attention span; frequent
daydreaming
3.    Placing the head close to a book when reading; losing place while
reading
4.    Complaints of headaches, nausea and dizziness; excessive clumsiness
5.    Turning or tilting the head to one side

If you notice any of these symptoms, make sure your child sees an eye
doctor for a comprehensive eye examination. Keep in mind that not all
problems can be diagnosed by you or a school nurse; only an eye care
practitioner has the training and equipment to catch everything.
To ensure the best vision conditions for your children, ask yourself:
•    Is there proper lighting?
•    Do my children with eyeglasses actually wear them?
•    When your kids are at the computer, are they sitting 24-28" from the
monitor? (By sitting closer than 20", they risk eye strain.)


If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Nigel St Rose
Bsc (Hons) MCOptom TPA.
Optometrist
Island Eyes Optical Boutique
3 Eastern Main Road St Joseph
Nigel@islandeyestt.com
www.islandeyestt.com
Tel 868 663 8780