The school year is finally here! As children prepare to work their brain, remember being a student also places great demand on their eyes. Read on to learn about the unique vision demands on students and some eye care tips to keep them seeing clearly all year long:
Time for an Eye Exam
If your child hasn’t already seen an optometrist, it’s always a good idea to have his or her eyes checked at the start of a new school year. So much of learning is visually based that students with undiagnosed vision problems often have issues with academic performance.
Tips for Student Athletes
It seems obvious that most sports require good vision for peak performance. And with an estimated 42,000 sports-related eye injuries occurring each year according to the The Vision Council, and almost half of those occurring in children younger than 15 years, it’s also important to protect those baby blues (and greens and browns) from harm. Proper eyewear protection is critical for many sporting activities, particularly those involving ball and contact sports.
Too Much Computer Time
Today’s students are staring at screens all day. In a 2012 survey of over 1400 students, the Pearson Foundation found that nearly six in ten students preferred a digital format when reading books for fun or textbooks while only a third preferred a print format. Viewing a computer screen places incredible demands on the visual system (much more so than a printed page) and can cause a variety of temporary symptoms including: headaches, eyestrain, blurry vision, neck and shoulder pain, and dry eyes. This is called Computer Vision Syndrome.
Being a student is both a rewarding and challenging experience. Help your children succeed this year by helping them care for their vision. They may not think to thank you for it, but they will be grateful.