A good start in life and school depends on good vision.
Think about all the developmental activities that depend on a child’s good sight—recognizing faces, reading letters on a chalkboard or catching a ball—and it’s easy to see why treating kids’ sight problems and protecting their eyes from injury should be a top priority.
Vision problems affect one in 20 preschoolers and one-quarter of school-aged children, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).
In addition to visual impairments, thousands of children suffer physical eye trauma each year. The most common causes of eye injury in children under five include the misuse of toys or everyday objects.
Sports safety
In school-aged children, sports participation dramatically increases the risk of eye injury. Over 40,000 sports eye injuries happen every year, and 90 percent of them are preventable, according to the PBA Web site.
In any sport that involves fast motion, rough contact with other players or fast-moving racquets, balls, pucks or other projectiles, the AAO advocates proper protective gear to help prevent injury.
“Taking small steps to safeguard kids’ eyes and treating their vision problems early will help protect a child’s healthy vision and all the benefits it brings,” said Varma a USC researcher.
For more information on Vision Health.