Home

What could be more important than your child’s vision?

Since 80 per cent of a child’s learning is based on vision, excellent sight and eye health are critical to a child’s development.

Visual development is an active process that begins prior to birth and continues throughout life. Every movement, shape, colour, texture and picture your child is exposed to contributes to the development of their visual skills.

By protecting your child’s eye health and vision, you are enabling them to play, learn, socialize and fully experience everything that life has to offer. Eye problems can even lead to developmental difficulties at school. In fact, one in five children has a vision disorder. Not knowing any differently, many of these children accept poor vision and other eye ailments as normal. If left unchecked, serious long-term effects can result. Even more surprising, one in six school-age children diagnosed with a learning disability actually has a correctable vision problem.

That’s why, with the support of Essilor Canada, BCAO created the a-b-See™ campaign to raise awareness among parents, teachers and children themselves about the importance of good vision and eye health. The campaign is also designed to help with the early identification of children with vision disorders. Learn more about the a-b-See™ campaign, and discover fun online games to play with your kids!

Your B.C. Doctor of Optometry is your child's eye expert. They are professionally trained to ensure the best visual development for your growing children. They understand that a child's future development, education and self-confidence is dependent on healthy visual abilities. Protect your child’s vision: book an eye exam with a BCAO member Doctor of Optometry in your area.

From the age of six months and up, regular eye exams can identify and address problems early and safeguard children's vision as they grow. Learn more about how eye exams can safeguard your child’s vision. The BC Medical Services Plan provides benefits for children’s optometric eye exams; get coverage details here.

The a-b-See™ campaign is a program of the British Columbia Association of Optometrists, supported by Essilor.

During the first four months, their visual horizon will expand from a few centimetres to many metres. Their vision will become clearer and colour vision will begin developing. Their two eyes will start working together. By four months of age, an infant's colour vision is similar to an adult's, and by the sixth month, your baby will acquire eye movement control and develop eye-hand co-ordination skills.

For the first six months an infant's eyes can appear crossed or out of alignment, but this is usually normal. However, if your infant’s eyes remain misaligned after six months of age, contact your local Doctor of Optometry right away. They may have strabismus, or “crossed eyes,” a condition that needs to be treated with eyeglasses, contact lenses, prisms and/or vision therapy and, in extreme cases, surgery.

Another condition that can develop within the first six months of your baby’s life is “lazy eye,” or amblyopia. This condition describes weak vision or vision loss in one eye that may not be fully correctable with lenses alone. It usually develops in children before age eight. It’s important to treat amblyopia early – with vision therapy, eyeglasses and contact lenses, or a patch – as treatment becomes very difficult later on. Untreated, amblyopia can lead to total blindness in the affected eye.

Visual abilities play a big role in early development. Seeing a Doctor of Optometry at this time can prevent potentially vision-threatening disorders.

Protect your child’s vision: consult a BCAO member Doctor of Optometry today.

Close

There are activities which can help improve these essential vision skills, such as playing with building blocks or balls of any shape and size.

Children at age two enjoy listening to and telling stories. It helps them develop visualization skills and prepares them for learning to read. At this stage of their development, toddlers also like to paint, draw and colour, sort shapes and sizes, and fit or assemble pieces. These activities are all integral to their visual development.

A preschooler's eyes are not ready for prolonged or intense concentration at short distances. To make TV viewing easier on the eyes, the room should be softly lit, the set placed so as to avoid glare, and the child should sit further away than five times the screen's width, taking periodic breaks from staring at the screen.

Be alert for symptoms that may indicate your child has a visual problem:

* red, itchy or watering eyes
* sensitivity to light
* an eye that consistently turns
* squinting, rubbing the eyes, or excessive blinking
* a lack of concentration
* covering or closing one eye
* irritability or short attention span
* holding objects too close
* avoiding books and television
* visible frustration or grimacing

Protect your child’s vision: consult a BCAO member Doctor of Optometry today.

Your preschooler may enjoy playing a-b-See games with you on the computer. These interactive games are bright, colourful and fun, and teach children about the importance of eye health. Play a-b-See games now.


Close

If any of these visual skills are lacking or impaired, your child will have to work harder and may develop headaches or fatigue. Often the visual demands of schoolwork can make greater demands on a child's visual skills, causing a vision problem that was not apparent before school. The child may not realize they have a vision problem – they may simply assume everyone sees the way they do. A vision-related problem may take the form of many symptoms:

* headaches or visible irritation
* avoidance of near-distance work
* covering or rubbing of the eyes
* tilting of the head or unusual posture
* using a finger to maintain place while reading
* losing place while reading
* omitting or confusing small words when reading
* performing below their potential

Conditions that may emerge during this stage in your child’s life include myopia or nearsightedness (blurred vision when seeing objects at a distance), hyperopia or farsightedness (blurred vision when seeing objects up close) and astigmatism (blurred vision at all distances).

Your child should have a complete optometric eye exam before starting kindergarten, and regularly throughout the school years to ensure optimal eye health and developmental progress.

Protect your child’s vision: consult a BCAO member Doctor of Optometry today.


Close

BCAO also offers information on eye care and eyewear. Visit the Helpful Links section for information on these topics and more.