Healthy eyes play an essential role in all aspects of children’s development. Uncorrected vision problems can impact the way they interpret the world around them, affecting everything from learning to socialising.
Keep an eye out for these common signs or behaviours that may indicate a vision problem in children.
Eye rubbing
Occasional rubbing of the eyes is normal. However, excessive rubbing may indicate that your children are experiencing blurred vision or some other sort of distortion. Rubbing the eyes may be an attempt to clear the problem as if it were something in the eye. It can also be related to eye allergies.
Head tilting
Covering one eye or tilting their head back and forth while reading or watching television could be a sign of an eye-tracking problem. It is a common sign of visual impairment. If caught early, tracking problems can be corrected with appropriate treatment.
Struggling to read
Are your children having difficulty keeping track of the words or often losing place when reading? This may be a sign of a vision problem like astigmatism. Kids who constantly use a finger to keep their place while reading may be dealing with a treatable eye issue.
Squinting
Do your kids squint when watching television or reading? This could indicate that they may have difficulty focusing due to a vision problem. Squinting the eyes can help to make the vision a little clearer for a kid who is near-sighted.
Short attention span
Do your children have difficulties paying attention? Some tasks require clear vision and can be challenging if your children have a vision problem. It makes sense that they would lose interest in vision-oriented activities.
