Now that children are headed back to school the Ontario government suggests scheduling an eye exam.
According to the government 80 per cent of classroom learning is visual and an eye exam can help students reach their full potential. Children who have difficulty seeing may have difficulties at school because their motor skills, social development, attention span and ability to learn can all be affected. Local optometrist James A. Holmes is part of a program called I see, I learn where he gives junior kindergarten students their first pair of glasses free, if it is determined they need them.
Holmes recommends every child have their first eye exam at six-months-old, again at three, and at the start of every school year to ensure their vision is developing properly. Some possible signs your children may have vision problems include; not making eye contact, closing or covering one eye, squinting or frowning when looking near or far, excessive blinking, strong reactions to light, turning or tilting their head to view objects and bumping into things often.
According to the Ontario Government one in four school aged children has a vision problem that is going undetected and just less than 23 per cent of children under the age of 6 have never had an eye exam. The Ontario Association of Optometrists encourages parents to schedule eye exams for the beginning of each school year.
