THOSE who wear glasses are more likely to get passes.
That’s the back-to-school message from Geelong optometrist Bruce McNeel, who is urging parents to have their children’s eyes checked as part of routine preparations for the start of the new school year on Wednesday.
For six-year-old AJ Williams, who will start prep at Bellaire Primary School, and his sister, Sydney, who will move into grade three at the same Highton school, glasses will not be needed.
But Mr McNeel said one in four Australian children had an eye condition or suffered some level of vision impairment.
Since sight is involved in more than 80 per cent of learning, vision problems had the potential to inhibit academic achievement, social development, and sporting ability, he said.
«We find many parents are unaware that children should have their eyes tested from the age of three. But eye tests are just as important, if not more important, than all the other tasks parents tick off before they send their kids back to school,» Mr McNeel said.
«Blurred vision and poor focusing skills are common problems in children both with and without learning difficulties … glasses and eye exercises help children maintain clear and comfortable vision for learning and enjoyable reading.»
Mr McNeel said vision problems often did not become apparent until children reached school age and experienced difficulties seeing the board and trouble completing their work.
Once detected, common conditions such as short- and long-sightedness, astigmatism, focusing and eye co-ordination problems, as well as most lazy eye conditions were easily treated, Mr McNeel said.
Glasses were not always necessary, he said.
Medicare covered the cost of an eye test every two years for children, Mr McNeel said.
WARNING SIGNS
HOW to tell if a child is struggling with vision:
Children could be suffering from myopia (short-sightedness) if they:
SIT closer than two metres away from the TV
Position themselves closer than 40 cm from a computer screen
HOLD reading materials very close to their face
SQUINT when trying to view distant objects and read a whiteboard
Signs eyes may be fatigued and strained:
RUBBING eyes
HEADACHES
Children may have vision-related problems if they regularly:
SKIP lines when reading
LEAVE out or confuse small words when reading
TURN or tilt their head to use one eye only
ARE often clumsy
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