Are Your Child’s Eyes Ready for School?
A good education for your child means good schools, good teachers, and good vision. Your child’s eyes are constantly in use in the classroom and at play. So when his or her vision is not functioning properly, learning and participation in recreational activities will suffer.
Basic vision skills needed for school use are:
- Near vision: the ability to see clearly and comfortably at 10-13 inches.
- Distance vision: the ability to see clearly and comfortably beyond arms reach.
- Binocular coordination: the ability to use both eyes together.
- Eye movement skills: the ability to aim the eyes accurately, move them smoothly across a page, and shift them quickly and accurately from one page to another.
- Focusing skills: the ability to keep both eyes accurately focused at the proper distance to see clearly and change focus quickly.
- Peripheral awareness: the ability to be aware of things located to the side while looking straight ahead.
- Eye/hand coordination: the ability to use the eyes and hands together.
- If any of these or other vision skills is lacking or not functioning properly, your child will have to work harder. This can lead to headaches, fatigue, and other eyestrain problems. As a parent, be alert for symptoms that may indicate your child has a vision or visual processing problem. Be sure to tell your optometrist if your child frequently: