Does your child always complain about headaches, light sensitivity or sits very close to the T.V.?

Research suggests that one in five children have undetected eye problems. These children may experience learning difficulties at school, lose confidence and develop more slowly. Also, without early treatment, problems such as "lazy eye" can become permanent. It is therefore very essential that eyesight be tested from a very early age.

Children should be subjected to an eye examination at least by the age of three, or earlier in case of a problem. Vision screening checks are often carried out by doctors, health visitors and other medically trained personnel, but these are not as comprehensive as a full eye examination by a qualified optometrist. It’s a common misconception that children’s eyes cannot accurately be checked until they can read, but in fact, several special tests can be carried out at a very early age. As the child develops and communication skills improve, more detailed tests are also possible. 3-D vision, for example, can be tested with pictures of familiar objects.

Recognizable signs for vision defects:
1. Struggling to recognize colors, shapes
2. Not showing any interest in learning to read or draw;
3. Squinting to see objects clearly;
4. Complain about headaches and blurred vision
5. Sit very close to the television.
6. Itching, jerky eye movements, cross eyes
7. Excessive blinking,
8. Light sensitivity after reading,
9. Double vision,
10. Dizziness, nausea after reading
11. Skipping lines or loses place when reading,
12. Difficulty tracking moving objects.

Vision problems are breakdowns in the flow of information between the eyes, the brain and the body. Hence inefficient vision contributes to learning difficulties, low achievement levels at work, failure in sports and other recreational activities.

How mothers can contribute:

1. Mothers who ate oily fish, such as mackerel and sardines and who breast-fed their babies were more likely to have babies with fully developed vision than born to mothers who did neither. (Both contain the fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an important building block for nerve cells in the brain).

2. Avoiding smoking during pregnancy as it increases risk of squint due to toxic effects on the central nervous system of the baby.

Vision is an acquired skill infants and children proceed through sequential stages of visual development. Children's eyesight is still developing by the time they enter school and is fully developed only by the age of 8. Detection of a vision defect earlier makes it easier to be treated. Vision problems if left undetected and untreated, may rob children of precious vision.