Too many parents forget to check this essential detail in their child, yet it must be done very early: their schooling, their social relationships and their future depend on it.
Being a good parent in our time is not easy: the advice of loved ones, early childhood specialists or teachers is sometimes contradictory… And the information on the most effective and caring methods of education is very demanding, sometimes guilt-inducing. But there are things with which you must know how to be rigorous, especially when the young child begins learning at school.
Among the things to check with your child as soon as they start school, around the age of 3, there is obviously motor skills, but not only that. You must also focus on what he sees around him and especially on the board! According to a study cited by Opticians by Conviction, nearly 20% of children who enter school have a problem “which, if taken care of in time, can be corrected”. A other work of researchers from Poitiers highlighted that “the progression of problems is greater in children, between 7 and 12 years” in France.
Other recent work, carried out by the General Council of Spanish Colleges of Opticians-Optometrists, shows that one in three cases of academic failure is linked to vision problems. And that’s no small thing: the results highlight that during the first 12 years of life, around 80% of a child’s socio-educational development takes place through their eyes. Therefore, it is essential to pay close attention to children’s visual abilities, especially during their first months at school.
Since eyesight is a key part of the learning process, parents and educators must ensure that children are not disadvantaged from a young age. Many schoolchildren may need glasses, but their parents are unaware of this.
How do you know if your child needs glasses? What are the signs to quickly identify? Six stand out:
- your child has difficulty concentrating;
- your child draws, writes or reads with his nose in his notebook;
- your child confuses certain shapes or letters like H and N or B and P;
- your child gets too close to screens or pages;
- your child frowns to see from a distance;
- your child holds his or her head unusually tilted and looks sideways.
It is difficult to determine whether children, especially younger ones, have adequate vision because they do not have a benchmark to assess their own vision, but it is entirely possible. Today, vision tests are not limited to the sharpness of vision, but also encompass children’s ease in daily activities.
Common eye problems among children are on the increase due to modern lifestyles, characterized by excessive use of screens, a lack of outdoor activities and exposure to natural light.