KidSight wants to encourage parents to add, “get my child’s eyes checked” to their back to school list, this year. Ensuring that your child has healthy vision can also ensure that they have a successful school year. When 80% of learning occurs through the eyes, healthy vision is essential to success in the classroom! We are dedicated to helping kids start the school year with healthy vision. We’re providing free vision screenings at back-to-school events and health fairs all month!
August is Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month. We encourage parents to learn about all of the ways they can protect their child’s eyes. It is important to remember that a child may not know that they have a vision problem –what they’re seeing is “normal” to them! Parents should look for the “ABCs” of vision problems:
- A stands for “Appearance.” Do you ever notice your child’s eye turning? Does your child squint to see things? Do your child’s eyes seem to be red or swollen?
- B stands for “Behavior.” Does your child sit really close to the television? Does your child seem clumsy or have poor hand-eye coordination? Does your child avoid doing sustained visual activities like reading?
- C stands for “Complaints.” Does your child complain of blurry or double vision? Does your child say that their eyes hurt or burn? Does your child often complain of headaches?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, your child may have a vision problem!
KidSight screenings can help identify children who may have a vision problem. For example, Jameson, who is now wearing glasses after his KidSight screening. Jameson’s parents didn’t know that he had refractive amblyopia which could have caused him to lose vision in one eye. Jameson’s mother said, “If it wasn’t for KidSight, there’s a good chance we wouldn’t have known about his issue until he was older (or too late for treatment).” You can find an upcoming KidSight screening by visiting our calendar.
We encourage following the American Optometric Association’s vision exam guidelines. They recommend that children have a full, dilated eye exam at ages 6-12 months, 3 years, 5 years (or just before they start school) and every 2 years after that.
For more information on children’s eye health and safety, local pediatric vision resources or to find out when we’ll be screening in your area, please call 1-855-454-3744 or email info@kid-sight.org.