Children's Eye and Safety Month

Prevent Blindness has declared August as Children’s Eye Health and Safety Awareness month. The goal of this month is to inspire and encourage parents to make their children’s vision health a bigger priority. 

Since the new school year is approaching, it’s important for parents to schedule a comprehensive eye exam for their children before the school year starts. As a good rule of thumb, you should aim to have your children’s eyes examined once they are three years old.

Your doctor can identify refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism as well as any diseases that affect vision.  Additionally, eye injuries are another big risk for children. There are about 42,000 sports-related eye injuries every year in America, and children suffer most of these injuries.

To ensure your child is not part of the 12 million children who suffer from vision impairment, prevention is key.

Protective eyewear

All children should wear protective eyewear while participating in anything sport-related.

Age-appropriate toys

Make sure the toys you give your children are appropriate for their age and pose no immediate risks. Avoiding toys with share or protruding shapes is important as well.

Finding a licensed eye care specialist

Prevention can also mean identifying any kind of vision impairment and abnormalities early on, and making sure your child has access to the right resources. Find an eye care specialist that can help you.

Additionally, identifying warning signs of possible vision problems can be important too. Wandering or crossed eyes, family history of childhood vision problems, disinterest in reading or viewing distant objects, squinting or turning the head in an unusual manner while watching television, etc.

Keep an eye out for your children’s vision health, and make sure they are getting the proper care and exams.

Source:
https://yoursightmatters.com/august-childrens-eye-health-safety-month/