Protecting the child’s vision is sometimes a subject that is farthest from a parent’s mind when they think of things they need to worry about. This article will provide some simple ways to protect your child’s vision.
Some children have bad vision naturally due to genetics and some have environmental and situational reasons that their vision has become bad. Use these simple tips to make sure the latter isn’t your child.
- It is recommended that your child has a vision screening every year and doctors usually do a vision screening at child’s check-up before starting school. If your child is discovered to have any trouble seeing at this appointment, their doctor will let you know. Any child younger than 5 or 6 who has vision problems will show signs. Since it is hard to detect before your child starts school, just pay attention. Does your child squint or get really close to things when looking at them? Little things like that can be clues.
- Nutrition plays a big part in how well your child can see. Did your mother ever tell you to eat your carrots because they are good for your eyes? Well, as always, she was right. There are a number of fruits and veggies that carry Vitamin A and Beta Carotene which are great for vision. Be sure to cook them in a way that you aren’t taking the vitamins out of the food. If your kiddo doesn’t like veggies, use condiments or other flavor “adders” so they can get those essential vitamins or you can always ask your pediatrician about a vitamin or supplement.
- We use sunscreen to protect our skin and just like our skin, our eyes can be damaged by the sun. The UV rays from the sun can damage your child’s vision, so when you and your child are out and about on a sunny day, put some child-sized sunglasses on your little one or a hat with a brim. This helps block the harmful rays from the sun.
- Another helpful piece of advice is to make sure that your child early on isn’t sitting too close to the TV or computer screen. Kids these days are very tech savvy and tend to be looking at a screen a lot. This is bad for their vision, and even as babies and toddlers, you should make sure that things aren’t put too close to their eyes. This can strain eye muscles more.
The main thing is to watch your child and catch any issues early on because some vision problems can be corrected if caught in the early stages.
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