Around 80 percent of the information a child learns is processed through sight. As a result, your eyes need to be capable of doing much more than simply viewing and processing your surroundings.
As children grow, they need to interpret and react to visual stimuli by moving and focusing both eyes correctly. In order to recognize, understand and retain knowledge, children must possess the following visual skills highlighted by the American Optometric Association.
- — Visual Acuity: Visual acuity refers to one’s ability to see distant (like writing on the chalkboard), intermediate (like a computer screen) and close (like text in a book) objects clearly.
- — Eye Focusing: Just as important as visual acuity is the ability to maintain clarity as a child switches focus from one object to another. For example, at school, this could involve looking from a computer screen to a notebook. Eye focusing also encompasses the ability to maintain focus over a period of time.
- — Eye Tracking: At school, children need to track moving objects with their eyes and maintain focus while reading.
- — Eye Teaming: The ability to move eyes equally and simultaneously helps with many tasks, from reading (by allowing a child to move eyes across lines of text) to understanding distance (for sports and certain learning activities).
- — Hand-Eye Coordination: Your child’s vision can even affect his or her physical abilities, including drawing and playing sports. Performing these tasks successfully requires good hand-eye coordination.
- — Visual Perception: This final skill allows children to understand how lines and shapes form letter and words, enabling them to read, understand text and retain information.
Good eye health means taking care of your kids’ eyes at all times, especially when they’re out in the sun. Check out Real Kids’ collection of shades to find a pair that will help your children protect their eyes from UV rays and set them on the path to success at school.