Every parent wants their child to be healthy, to flourish and learn. One of the keys to a child\u2019s success in life starts with eye health and good vision. It may sound obvious, but in order to learn, a child must first be able to see clearly. However, many eye conditions, like nearsightedness, can go undetected, as children tend not to complain or even notice that something isn\u2019t right. Instead, they just adjust.<\/p>\n
Children\u2019s eyes and vision change as they grow. Therefore, babies, children, and teenagers have different eye health considerations at each stage. Regular eye doctor checkups are important to ensure that your child has no uncorrected eye conditions or vision problems that can be either dangerous or a barrier to growth and learning.<\/p>\n
The American Optometric Association recommends an initial eye exam at six months, another at age three, the next before starting first grade, and then every two years through age 18. (1)<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Through the first six months of life, a baby\u2019s vision evolves rapidly. Newborns begin to focus on an object within the first several weeks of life, and by two months they can follow moving objects with their eyes. At birth, they are very sensitive to bright light, but by two weeks they start seeing shades of light and dark. Around the one-month mark, they begin to recognize colors.<\/p>\n When they reach six months old, it\u2019s time to schedule your child\u2019s first eye exam. The eye doctor will conduct a vision test and a comprehensive eye exam, checking for proper eye movement, alignment, and the ability to track light and color, plus they\u2019ll look for signs of common disorders like amblyopia, commonly known as \u201clazy eye.\u201d<\/p>\n Vision problems in babies, infants, and toddlers are rare. Nevertheless, if your child shows signs of any of the following, schedule an appointment with your pediatrician or eye doctor, as vision and eye problems can delay development.<\/p>\n Focusing, tracking, depth perception, and other aspects of vision continue to develop throughout early childhood. Regular checkups will ensure that your child\u2019s development is normal.<\/p>\n The American Public Health Association reports than one in four children have some form of vision problem or condition. (2)<\/a><\/sup> However, children this age usually don\u2019t complain about their vision problems, so parents should be aware of the signs:<\/p>\n As children reach school age, they may develop some common conditions that can be easily corrected with glasses or contact lenses:<\/p>\n As a parent, be alert for symptoms that may indicate your child has one of these vision or visual processing problems. Make an appointment with your optometrist if you notice any of the following, which could be signs that your child needs corrective lenses:<\/p>\n 1. http:\/\/www.aoa.org\/patients-and-public\/caring-for-your-vision\/comprehensive-eye-and-vision-examination\/recommended-examination-frequency-for-pediatric-patients-and-adults?sso=y<\/a> Every parent wants their child to be healthy, to flourish and learn. One of the keys to a child\u2019s success in life starts with eye health and good vision. It may sound obvious, but in order to learn, a child must first be able to see clearly. However, many eye conditions, like nearsightedness, can go […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[290,408,470,524,461],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/d3toagd7ypryjs.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/eye-health-birth-high-school-graduation-featured.jpg","acf":{"post_subtitle":"A child\u2019s ability to learn and excel in school and life depends on good vision. ","post_hero_image":{"ID":382,"id":382,"title":"eye-health-birth-high-school-graduation-hero","filename":"eye-health-birth-high-school-graduation-hero.jpg","filesize":28502,"url":"https:\/\/d3toagd7ypryjs.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/eye-health-birth-high-school-graduation-hero.jpg","link":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/eye-health-from-birth-to-high-school-graduation\/eye-health-birth-high-school-graduation-hero\/","alt":"Elementary school girl smiles as she playfully covers one eye.","author":"49","description":"Elementary school girl smiles as she playfully covers one eye.","caption":"A child\u2019s ability to learn and excel in school and life depends on good vision. 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Members can see the eye doctor they want to see, when and where it\u2019s convenient for them. All with access to the leading diagnostic tools, a wide selection of frames and contacts and exclusive member savings. That's why more than 42 million members choose EyeMed.","post_type":"post","post_co_branding_disclaimer":"THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EYEMED","post_conclusion_status":"false","mobile_content":{"mobile_story_label":"","mobile_post_title":"","mobile_carousel_image":"","mobile_hero_image":"","mobile_content_body":""},"card_title":"Your child's eye health","header":"Worth the look","footer":"3 minute read"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.engage-wellbeing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Babies, infants, and toddlers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Pre-school (ages 2-5)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Children and teenagers (ages 6 to 18)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\u00a0<\/h3>\n
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\n<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span>2.\u00a0https:\/\/www.apha.org\/policies-and-advocacy\/public-health-policy-statements\/policy-database\/2014\/07\/08\/15\/29\/reducing-barriers-and-increasing-access-to-childrens-vision-care-services<\/a><\/span>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"