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It can be hard to know whether your child needs glasses. These 6 signs will show you how to tell if there’s a problem and if your child needs an eye exam.
Eighty percent of what children learn in their first 12 years of life comes through visual processing.
The problem is, not all children have 20/20 vision. Kids who are born with poor vision may be used to seeing the world as a blur. Others just aren’t wired to speak up.
So how do you know if your child needs glasses? You can learn how to spot these subtle signs.
Eye checkups are an essential part of your child’s well-being. Find an exam time that fits your schedule!
Sign #1: They Can’t See the Board
The most common vision problem in schoolchildren is not being able to see far away. And struggling to read a board in school or a large billboard are early tipoffs.
Sign #2: They Squint a Lot
Squinting forces incoming light directly at your retina. This temporary change helps us see more clearly. But it’s obviously not a good long-term strategy for their daily routines.
Sign #3: They Easily Tire of Reading
If your young reader gives up on page one, they may have a hard time with up-close tasks. When we read, our eyes naturally pull in toward each other. But if the eyes can’t converge like this, double vision or blurriness can occur.
This means your child may not have a reading problem — they may have a vision problem. Which is why you should get your child’s eyes checked at the first sign of school problems.
Sign #4: They Rub Their Eyes a Lot
Too much eye rubbing may be a subconscious way of trying to make things clearer.
Sign #5: They Tilt Their Head Often
If you often notice your child tilting their head to one side, they could be trying to adjust their visual angle to see more clearly.
It could also be a sign of crossed eyes. Or, it could be amblyopia (often referred to as lazy eye). This is when one eye doesn’t work with the other, by turning in or out on its own.
Sign #6: They Drop the Ball
If your child can’t catch or is always swinging late at pitches, poor vision may be to blame. They may also struggle to judge distances, track moving objects, or see out of the corner of their eyes.
The good news? Most of these problems are easily fixed after an eye exam. And the right glasses can often unlock a child’s full potential.
Recommended reading:
What Happens at the Eye Doctor’s Office: A Kids’ Guide to Eye Exams
How to Spot Vision Problems in Children Who Are Learning to Read