5 Signs Your Child May Need Glasses

Depending on the visual error being corrected, kids wearing glasses for the first time are often awed by the changes they see in the world around them. The right glasses cause leaves on a tree to become individual details rather than a green blur on a brown stalk. Words on a page suddenly have meaning. Even the expression in a parent’s eyes is easier to read when you’re wearing glasses that correct your vision.

Unfortunately, many children don’t share their difficulty seeing with their parents or other caregivers. This is often because they have no idea they aren’t seeing normally. It’s difficult, after all, to speak up about not seeing well if you don’t know what “normal” looks like. Some children with visual problems are too young to articulate their needs.

There are signs, however, that can alert parents, teachers, and other caregivers to the possibility that a child may need glasses. 

With four Michigan offices, Tiffany Zair-Yalda, OD, and her team at the Michigan Eye and Contact Lens Clinic specialize in pediatric optometry. In this blog, they outline five signs that indicate your child may need glasses.

1. Squinting

Frequent, persistent squinting is often a sign that your child has a refractive error such as nearsightedness or farsightedness. These errors affect how the eyes focus on an image, and squinting can help make an object more straightforward.

2. Head tilting or covering one eye

Your child may frequently cover one eye or tilt their head to try to increase visual clarity. This behavior may indicate a misalignment of the eyes or amblyopia (lazy eye), which is one of the most common eye disorders in children.

3. Bringing objects too close

Sitting too close to the television or bringing a book or hand-held device very close to the eyes is often an indication of myopia (nearsightedness). Children with this refractive error can see objects at close range but not at a distance.

4. Frequent eye rubbing, headaches, eye pain

Excessive eye rubbing can be a sign of eye fatigue or strain. Headaches or eye pain, especially at the end of the day, may be a sign that your child is straining their eyes to improve focus and decrease blurred vision.

5. Difficulty concentrating on schoolwork and problems with behavior

Children who can’t see the board or images on a computer monitor are sometimes identified as lacking the focus necessary for schoolwork. They may eventually develop problematic behaviors as a way to cope with boredom in the classroom. Even high school students who struggle with reading may be experiencing a vision problem. 

Michigan Eye and Contact Lens Clinic uses the latest technology to ensure your child’s eye exams are comprehensive and provide highly accurate results. Dr. Zair-Yalda sees patients as young as 6 months and uses a variety of screening exams to ensure your child’s vision is developing normally.

Schedule a visit to Michigan Eye and Contact Lens today. Call the office nearest you or use our online booking system. We have offices in Novi, Lake Orion, Farmington Hill, and Ypsilanti, MI.