Signs your child might need an eye test - Stephen Olwell Opticians

It’s school time again!

It’s October, and the 1st term is halfway done. Whether your child is new to school or even coming to the end of their education, this is the time of year that they are finding their feet in their new classes and settling in.

They are by now getting to know their teachers, and their subjects, whether new or established. They are discovering what they are good at and what they need help with. Some kids will get on better than others and some will find school problematic.

It is very important to understand why, to ensure that all of our kids can have the best possible time in school, enjoy school and use it as a stepping stone to become the people they want to be.

One part of school life to consider is a child’s vision.

More than ¾ of learning at school is done through visual means. This means that having good vision is vitally important to ensuring children have the ability to learn and can enjoy learning to the fullest.

Primary school children rarely know what is normal and what is not when it comes to seeing clearly, so it is very important to have their eyes examined while they are in the infant classes.

This means that issues with vision can be helped before they progress to more challenging schoolwork.

Older kids and young adults are much more likely to know what they can see and what they can’t so listen to them and heed them if they tell you about problems. It can be difficult to change from a small primary school classroom to a larger secondary one, or even to a lecture theatre.

Signs your child may have problems with their vision include:

• Eye rubbing or sensitivity to light.
• Sitting too close to the TV or closing one eye to see better.
• Headaches when reading or doing homework.
• Avoiding things that require good vision, like sports (distance vision) or reading (near vision).
• The appearance of an obvious “turn” or “squint” in one eye.

In teens or young adults, these generally include:

• Headaches across the brows or the back of the head.
• Problems reading text on a whiteboard or projector screen.
• Glare from phone/tablet screens or from lights at night.

If you see any of these signs in your child, then it is very important to have their eyes examined to help them tackle these issues now.

Young children can be tested even before they start school to help give them the best start, but it is important to have their eyes tested regularly while in school when they are using their eyes to learn all day.

For older children and college students, it is a good idea to have the eyes tested any time they move from one school setting to another, with different sized classes, or theatres, or when they are beginning exam years, to help them do their best without any eye related pressures.

If you feel that your child could benefit from an eye examination, don’t hesitate to get in contact with your optician to book an appointment and give them the best possible advantages they can get.

Stephen Olwell FAOI
10 Grafton Court
Longford, Co Longford
T:: 043 33 42653
E: info@longfordopticians.com
W: https://stephenolwellopticians.com/

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