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5 Signs Your Child Might Need an Eye Exam

September 15, 2022

Any parent can tell you that communicating with their small children can be equal parts beautiful and baffling. In one moment they’ll be breathlessly recounting their heartrendingly adorable encounter with a puppy dog on the way home from school and in the next be in the throes of a full-on meltdown because said puppy was brown and not black. 


Communication with the kiddos can become pretty confusing for adults pretty quickly, so when it comes to our children’s vision and eye health, how do we parse out their actual needs? In the interest of helping parents recognize vision issues in their children, here are five signs that your child might need an eye exam.



Underlying health conditions

Many health conditions such as type 1 diabetes, measles, conjunctivitis, and premature birth can cause vision problems in children. If your child has had any serious illness at a young age, it’s a good idea to get their eyes checked regularly.


Difficulty in school

Affected academic performance is one of the most common ways that childhood vision problems are discovered.  If your child’s teacher has made remarks about their inability to pay attention in class or that they often seem lost during lessons, it could very well be the case that your child is having trouble seeing what’s going on around them in the classroom. Unfortunately, many children with poor vision do not understand the uniqueness of their situation and feel embarrassed that they’re not able to do what their classmates can and will opt to stay quiet about their difficulties.  It’s important to let your child know that there’s nothing wrong with them and that a doctor can help.



Facial cues

Human beings are pretty resilient in our ability to find methods to adapt to our circumstances, and children are no different. If you notice that your child has been squinting to see indoors, tilting their heads while looking at something, or covering one of their eyes with a hand, these are all strong indications that they are having difficulty seeing. All of these actions are adaptations that children will perform in order to aid their vision, and if you notice them you should schedule an appointment with an optometrist as soon as possible.


Moving very close to media

Pay attention to your child’s behavior when they are watching TV, reading a book, or playing on a tablet. Though many children will naturally gravitate closer to things they find interesting, if you notice that your child essentially has their nose pressed to the screen in order to see what’s going on, an eye exam is in order.


Listen to what your child says

This brings us back to our initial point about how it can be difficult for parents to understand their children at times. It’s important for parents to know that children often lack the words to properly articulate their feelings and experiences. Where an adult might have no trouble at all explaining that they have blurry patches in their field of vision or that their vision is fuzzy in one eye, but not in the other, many children simply have not learned the necessary vocabulary to express their vision issues. They may not even realize that they have vision problems in the first place and assume that everyone sees the world the same as they do. Listen to them if they complain of frequent headaches as this is a common symptom of issues with vision. If your child tells you that they cannot see something, take them seriously and schedule an eye examination.

As a parent, you have your plate full, and it can be challenging at times to understand what is going through your child’s mind, but if you notice any of the signs of vision impairment we’ve listed above please make an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible.  If you have any further questions about vision conditions in children, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us here at Chicago Vision Club.

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It Might Be Time to Move On So you’ve got these glasses that you’ve had forever. You don’t love them, but you don’t hate them either. You can see alright, but maybe it seems like that myopia might be slowly creeping back into your field of vision. They’re in pretty good shape, but there’s one or two blotches on them that just don’t seem to buff despite your best efforts. In short, you’re in a strange limbo where you feel like it might be time for a new pair, but you’re just not sure. Luckily we’re here to make it a little easier for you. Here are our top five signs that you need new glasses.

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By Bob Hansen • December 15, 2022
Improve Your Health Regular eye exams should be a part of everyone’s healthcare routine, and not just to protect your vision. While it’s true that checkups from your optometrist can catch the early signs of eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration, eye exams are remarkably effective at detecting so much more. Many of these diseases can be life-threatening, so early detection and treatment is vital. Let’s take a look at five diseases and health conditions that may be detected during your routine eye exam.

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By Bob Hansen • December 1, 2022
Finding New Frames Doesn't Need to be a Hassle We’ve all been there before. You’ve got a new prescription or maybe you’re replacing your old pair of glasses and suddenly you are confronted with a wall of frames and you suddenly have to decide what your face is going to look like with your glasses for the next couple of years. It’s daunting and exhausting and the last thing you want is to make the wrong decision. Don’t you worry, we’re here with you to help you choose a pair of frames that you’re going to love. We’ve compiled a list of five factors that you should consider when picking your new frames that will make the task feel less herculean.

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By Bob Hansen • November 18, 2022
Anxiety is Normal Going for a trip to the doctor of any type can be a really stressful experience for kids. They have to break from their normal routine, travel to an unfamiliar place, interact with unfamiliar people, and might find what goes on quite unpleasant. It’s completely normal, but it can put parents in the difficult position of putting their children through something they don’t want to do and might feel great apprehension about. Many parents might feel at a loss for what to do, so we’ve compiled a list of advice for parents whose children are feeling anxious about their eye exam.
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