A Child's Vision Guide for Parents

Vision at Different Stages of Childhood

Hi,this is my second post and I thank all the viewers for the positive response on my first post.Hope you would enjoy reading this one too 😃So,this post focuses mainly on how a child's vision develops at different stages during childhood👀

The picture below wonderfully depicts stages of Childhood👦

Photo credits: Google images

As there is a progressive vision development at different stages,you can follow some tricks below which will help to stimulate and develop your child's vision as per the age.

1) New Born: Birth to 2 months of age

✅Expected Vision for the age:

In the first couple of months,your baby 👶is near-sighted and will be able to see objects close to face up to 8'' to 10'' from face.Also the quality of vision is poor.High-contrast,bold objects (Black and white,red and white stripes or pictures)can be their primary focus.

Developmental Milestones :

Baby's brain is basically working on developing 'Form Sense'(Ex: identifying boundary of its mother's hairline or face) with the information received by viewing through both eyes

Above image shows how a new born 👶is trying to see her mother, as focusing for near is its main area of interest

Photo Credits: Google Images 
Attractive toys with music can be hanged on top of baby's cradle/crib to
stimulate vision

        Tricks for Visual Play:

• To grab their attention, you may show them dark/bright colored toys.You can also hang it on top of your cradle/crib
• Parents can wear high contrast or bright colored clothes which can differentiate them from the background and grab attention
• Show toys with dim flashing lights(bright light source can be harmful).Avoid clicking pictures with flash light 'ON'
• Install a dim light in your baby's room

2) Infant: 2 months to 12 months of age

✅Expected Vision for the age:

Babies begin to follow moving objects with their eyes and reach for things at around 3 months of age.From 5 to 8 months of age,the eye-body co-ordination tends to improve and may start to crawl at the age of 9 months.From 9 to 12 months, they will be age to focus at objects well and grab with fingers. By 12 months they will search and locate for support to stand.

              
                                         The above image shows activities of a baby during infancy

        Developmental Milestones :

• From around 5 months of age the baby's depth perception(three dimensional viewing)starts developing and they will be able to identify whether object is near or far.The eye-hand-foot co-ordination starts to improves
• At 4 to 6 months of age, they quickly locate, pick up objects and accurately direct them to their mouth
• Color perception also improves from 6 months of age
• Can also watch moving objects

        Tricks for Visual play:

• Baby should be involved in crawling and let your baby explore objects on the floor
• Objects can be named while playing and can be moved in different directions while playing to observe the baby eyes tracking the them

3) Toddler: 12 to 24 months old

✅Expected Vision for the age:

By the age of 12 months and beyond, the child's vision reaches to a normal adult level and they continue to learn and understand what they see.As per an article written by American Academy of Ophthalmology, a child's ability to focus at an object or both eyes working together,continues to develop until the age of 7 years

Developmental Milestones :

By this time, most babies try to explore their surroundings as their eye-hand coordination improves and their three- dimensional vision(perceiving depth) also improves.They try to stand and also try to recognize familiar objects and persons

Tricks for visual play:

• As the child's ability to use muscles of hand and legs get better over time,activities such as building blocks,matching objects by same properties( shape/color),naming objects/pictures.
• Help to hold pencil or crayon and let them scribble on a paper/drawing board

4) Pre-School: 2 to 5 years of age 

✅Expected Vision for the age:

As child advances to Pre-School,they fine tune their vision abilities gained during infancy and also try to rapidly learn new skills as they are introduced into a new environment with new set of children around.

Photo credits:Google images
Child trying to recognize own face in mirror

 Developmental Milestones : 

- Your child will be able to recognize colors,shapes,recognizes own face in mirror,remember first few set of numbers and letters, and mainly try to focus normally without crossing both eyes. 
- Parents mainly need to watch their child for the presence of vision problems like lazy eye or crossed eye/squinting eye as these conditions often develop at this age.(Also observe the child for developmental delays)

Photo credits: Google Images

        Tricks for Visual play:

• Eyes work individually as well as together, it is important to check whether your child is able to see with one eye at a time.
• It is not so easy for your child to cooperate,but you may try to close one of the eye, show his/her favorite toy and observe the other eye to see whether the child is fixing and following the moving toy 
• If you suspect for any problem, you may consult you Pediatric Optometrist/Ophthalmologist.

5) Mid-Childhood: 6 to 11 years 

• At this stage,parents should observe for any obvious eye problems such as squinting,squeezing eyes or reading at close distance,etc and consider getting an eye exam.
• Any child who is active verbally may easily read or identify the vision screening chart at the clinic.
• Your child's eye problem can be understood by you consulting Optometrist/Ophthalmologist and corrective options can be give

6) Adolescent : 12-18 years

• It is a transition phase to adulthood,where your children might complain about an eye problem when noticed.Yearly eye screening with an Optometrist/Ophthalmologist for all the children is important as discussed earlier in the previous post due to the present Digital world.
• It is not only important to pick up eye problems by your eye doctor but also changes in the refractive errors( glasses power) if your child is already wearing glasses can be monitored

Photo credits: Google Images
Above image shows how your child sees from birth to adulthood

Note: We should keep in mind that the overall pattern of vision development is same throughout childhood.But every child will have development in his/her own rate

As childhood is a phase where children may not be able to complain,it is important for every parent to have an idea regarding normal vision as per age.As we look for child's growth and developmental delays,vision development is also a necessary milestone at different stages of childhood.Hence,it has to be prioritized!

Thanks for the patience!! 😃Hope you find the content useful 👀

Stay tuned for an upcoming interesting article😊!!

REFERENCES:

Image credits: Shutterstock.com,google images

Articles:
https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/tips-children-eyes-vision
https://lasermom.wordpress.com/2012/06/24/infant-vision-research/

ALL ABOUT EYE CARE

         TIPS FOR HEALTHY EYES

Hey there!!This is Rashmi and it is my first post for the blog 😊. "All about eyes"👀 as the name says you can find some useful information about eyes in here.So,the first post features on tips for tired looking eyes and remedies to relieve eye strain.

Signs of eye strain or tiredness could be like puffy/swollen lids,frequent blinking,squinting/squeezing of eyes, appearance of vessels on eyelids,dark circles and many more👀Today's urban lifestyle,compact spaces and lack of outdoor activity right from childhood is one of the main reason for eye strain and aquiring glasses power.Here are some useful tips below to keep your eyes healthy and happy.

Tip 1:
Cut-down your screen time in dim/dark light

Whatever you heard, the warning that people shouldn’t read regularly in dim light is a familiar one.

Cause: Usage of illuminated gadgets such as (mobile phones,laptops,etc) before bed could negatively affect your sleep patterns. Too much exposure to blue light emitted from the gadgets can damage light-sensitive cells in the retina.It might also increase a person's risk to a condition called 'macular degeneration' later in life.

Remedy: Switch-On to the night mode and/or  reduce brightness of your screens.Wear glasses with blue-protective lenses during screen time.Keep your phone away for atleast 30 minutes to 1 hour before you go to bed.You could rather compensate by listening to your favourite music 

Tip 2:
Follow the 20-20-20 rule

Causes:Eye problems caused by computer use fall under the heading computer vision syndrome (CVS). It isn’t one specific problem. Instead,it includes a whole range of eye strain and discomfort. Anything more than two hours at a stretch is called as prolonged usage.

Remedy: For every two prolonged hours,take a 15 minute break and follow the 20-20-20 rule to avoid tiredness of eyes.

                         The reason behind looking far (20 metres) away is recommended because you will be able to completely relax your eye muscles doing so.Your eyes are technically focusing at infinity.Similarly your eye muscles get relaxed even by closing your eyes.

Tip 3:
Maintain sleeping hours

Cause:Over sleep can give a puffy appearance of eye lids and face,where as lack of proper sleep can show as dark circles under the eyes

Remedy:Sleep patterns play a key role for healthy looking eyes.Studies show that a normal adult usually needs anywhere between 7 to 9 hours of sleep.Sleeping pattern also shows effect on body weight.Same way it can shows changes in appearance of eyes.So maintain your sleep timings

 

Tip 4: 
Eye screening right from childhood

  

Cause: As children may not complain regarding vision disturbances but may complain/notice the following :

•    Frequently squinting to see better
•    Sitting too close to the TV or holding a book too close
•    Rubbing their eyes constantly
•    Headaches and tired eyes
•    Closing one eye to see or read better
•    Sensitivity to light and teary eyes  

Remedy: In today's digital world,education,shopping,job,banking,almost everything has become online.As a result gadgets are introduced into our life right from pre-school or much earlier.Getting eyes screened to know for the presence of an uncorrected power from early-schooling age itself can relieve your child's eyes from getting tired and lazy.

• Encourage outdoor activities by cutting down screen time
• Provide them a pair of blue-protective glasses when on screen

Myth: Wearing glasses is not recommended for children 

Fact: Wearing glasses can correct your child's vision and can make your child see normal depending upon the condition 

                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Tip 5:
Wear Sunglasses

Cause:On sun-exposure,UV-A rays (320–400 nm) can pass through the eye and reach retina.They can be harmful to the retina in eye and can also cause damage of the sensitive skin around eyes.Over exposure is linked to development of certain types of cataract and retina problems.

Remedy:Use U.V protected sunglasses/ photochromatic lenses while in sun for children and adults to avoid the harmful effects of U.V rays.Avoid applying sunscreen lotions close to your eyes.Consult a dermatologist for an under eye skin care.

Tip 6:
Avoid sleeping with make-up

Cause: Make-up or exposure to dust/pollution can block the pores on your lid margins and can cause inflammation.The skin on the eye ball which is conjunctiva can be sensitive to these particles and can cause allergic reactions when not applied properly/not cleaned thoroughly before going to bed.

Remedy: Wipe-off your make-up before going to bed to avoid eye infections and allergies.As skin under the eye is very sensitive,handle with care while you wipe your eyes

    

Tip 7:
Healthy food for healthy eyes

Cause:Poor nutrition can lead to eye problems such as dry eyes,night blindness in childhood and lack of vitamins and anti-oxidants can cause age related macular degenerative changes in the eyes.

Remedy: Some studies suggest that diets high in Vitamin-A may be associated with a reduced early risk of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.As a rule of thumb, the brighter and more deeply colored fruits and vegetables contain higher levels of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

• The foods rich in Vitamin-A includes yellow and orange-colored fruits such as mango,carrots,papaya,etc
• Foods rich in Vitamin-E includes sunflower seeds and nuts such as almonds,walnuts,etc
• Vitamin C found in citrus fruits also has antioxidants that protect the cells in your eyes from free radicals
• Brightly colored green vegetables are often rich in Lutein and Zeaxanthin, antioxidant nutrients deposited in the retinas of your eyes.These plant-based forms of vitamin A lower your risk of long-term eye diseases.It is also found in eggs.
• Omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish such as salmons,tunas have also been shown to help prevent and reduce the symptoms of age-related macular degeneration and dry eyes
• Minerals such as Zinc brings Vitamin-A from your liver to your retina, where it's used to make the protective pigment melanin, sources include eggs,meat,sea food such as prawns and shell fishes

TIP 8 :
Avoid Stress

Cause:Stress can also affect you mentally as well as aesthetically as it could trigger sleep deprivation and can give you appearance of dullness and dark circles.Your eyes are no exception to the physical impact of stress.It can trigger migraines and some migraine sufferers experience blurry vision and/or sensitivity to light.

Remedy: Regular exercises, yoga,etc can keep you happy and peaceful.Apply cold gel packs/cucumber/refridgerated tea bags under your tired eyes.Tea bags have anti-inflammatory and soothing properties and can make your tired eyes look better!!

Healthier eyes for a happier life!!

Tell me: What do you think about these eye care tips ?

Images Credit: Shutterstock