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Kids’ vision & learning

Children rarely say “I cannot see.”

From the doctors at Webb Eyecare

They assume everyone sees the way they do. So instead of telling you, they show you, usually through behavior that looks like something else entirely.

Here are the seven things parents tend to notice first. None of them confirms a diagnosis on its own. Each of them is a reasonable thing to mention at an eye exam.

• 1. Headaches after schoolwork: particularly late in the day, easing on weekends.
• 2. Losing their place while reading: skipping lines, or re-reading the same one.
• 3. Squinting: at the board, the television, or across a room.
• 4. Avoiding reading, or saying it is boring, hard, or that the words move.
• 5. Sitting very close to books, screens, or the classroom board.
• 6. Rubbing tired or irritated eyes: especially during or after schoolwork.
• 7. A prescription that keeps changing: worth asking your doctor about myopia.

What these signs are, and are not

Noticing one of these does not automatically mean something is wrong. Children are tired, distracted, hungry and bored for all sorts of reasons that have nothing to do with their eyes.

What the list does is turn a vague worry into a specific observation. “He holds his book about four inches from his face and rubs his eyes after twenty minutes” tells a doctor something. “She does not like reading” does not.

Why a child would not just tell you

Because they have nothing to compare it to. A child who has always had to work harder to read assumes reading is hard. A child whose distance vision has slowly blurred does not notice a change. They notice that the board is where blurry things are.

What to do with the list

Bring it. If one or two of these sound familiar, mention them at your child’s next comprehensive eye exam, and if a school screening already came back clear, mention that too. Both pieces of information matter, and they are not in conflict.

Teachers see your child read every day. If a teacher has mentioned anything about attention, reading stamina, or copying from the board, that note is worth bringing to the appointment.