5 Reasons Why Comprehensive Eye Exams Are Important for Preschoolers

Protecting your child’s health is one of your most important responsibilities as a parent. As you navigate various challenges and changes in your little one’s body and health, tracking all the key milestones is essential. Ensuring your child enjoys good eyesight is critical to these efforts. 

Eye care professionals recommend that kids have a comprehensive eye exam within the first year of their life. They should have another one before they begin grade school. Comprehensive eye exams are essential throughout their young lives. It would help to understand why they are so important for preschoolers. Some of the reasons include the following:

1. Poor Eyesight Can Impact Learning

You probably hear stories of school kids who sit near the back of the class whose academic grades start to slip until they get eyeglasses that help them read the blackboard. Struggling to read a teacher’s notes or assignments on the board can affect your child’s ability to learn. 

Fortunately, a comprehensive eye exam can help detect and correct eye and vision problems early. That can ensure your child remains visually engaged in class even as their eyes develop further. 

2. Vision Quality Can Change

Even if your child has perfect eyesight today, their vision can change by the same time next year. So, monitoring your little one’s vision and eye health through regular comprehensive eye exams is crucial. 

After all, eyesight changes may develop gradually or happen suddenly without warning. Some kids only notice changes in their vision quality once they start having trouble reading. A comprehensive eye exam can identify these issues and correct them.

3. Good Vision Is Essential for Safety

For parents of children in preschool, pediatric eye exams should be near the top of their to-do lists. You want your little one to be as safe as possible while playing, walking on the street, and everywhere else. 

4. Young Kids Will Not Mention Their Vision Problem

Your child will likely not tell you or anyone else if they are experiencing a vision problem. There are many underlying reasons for this, but the most significant one may be that young children do not know whether they have good eyesight. They only know how their eyesight looks to them. So, it becomes their idea of normal eyesight. 

While school vision screenings and pediatricians look for vision impairments, their tests are ineffective. The American Optometric Association suggests that school vision screenings may miss up to 75 percent of visual issues that can impact your child’s learning ability. That is why scheduling a comprehensive eye exam with a pediatric eye doctor at Smoot Eye Care is so important. 

5. Comprehensive Eye Exams Can Detect Other Health Problems

Many people discover they have health conditions like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer from a comprehensive eye exam. Your child’s eyes are a very accurate window to their overall health.

Conclusion

All these reasons, taken together, provide compelling evidence for scheduling a comprehensive eye exam for your child. Remember that your pediatric eye doctor is there to help you and answer any questions.

For more about pediatric eye exams, visit Smoot Eye Care at our Bedford, Indiana office. Call (812) 675-4199 to schedule an appointment today.