December is one of the busiest months of the year. Between holiday gift buying, family get-togethers, and school holiday events, your calendar is likely bursting at the seams. But one item that you should definitely make sure gets checked off your to-do list this month is scheduling your child’s eye appointment for 2013.
Children’s eyes are still developing well throughout their school-aged years. If a problem arises and is not treated promptly, it could become a life-long disease. However, if the issue is detected early, it can most often be corrected by an eye-care specialist.
KidsHealth offers some tips for detecting warning signs if your child is experiencing eye problems. They include: chronic redness of the eyes, frequent eye rubbing, extreme sensitivity to light, white pupils, chronic tearing, and poor visual tracking. Teachers often notice symptoms of eye issues before parents because children with vision problems may have to squint to read the board or their textbooks during class.
While it’s good to know about these warning signs, eye-care professionals agree that regular eye exams are the only way to truly prevent any problems from developing or worsening. It’s not unusual for young children to get nervous about going to the doctor, and an eye exam is no different.
Fortunately, there are several ways to assuage these fears. First, we recommend making eye appointments a routine event so that your child can become accustomed to them. Another step you can take to comfort anxious children when going to the doctor’s office is to talk with them about what to expect during their visit. Often, just letting children know that they won’t have to get a shot is enough to ease most of their fears!
For more information about children’s eye health, check out the informational pages on our website. There are tons of helpful descriptions about the science that goes into making our kids’ sunglasses doctor-recommended.
Images via flickr and Real Kids Shades