Did you know, children learn more from vision than all other senses combined. Amazing huh?
Sadly, ONE in FIVE kids has an UNDETECTED VISION PROBLEM, which could be impacting their day-to-day activities.
That’s quite scary as optimum vision is so important. It underpins social, physical and educational development. So as parents, why wouldn’t we get our kids’ eyes checked regularly to give them the best chance of reaching their full potential?
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) ‘Eye Health Among Australian Children’ report reveals that along with allergies and asthma, eye disorders are the most common long-term health problems experienced by kids.
There are more than 400,000 cases of long-term eye disorders among Aussie children. The most common are long and short-sightedness. Both of which can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses.
- Long-sightedness (hypermetropia): This is a condition in which it’s easier to view objects in the distance than those that are close up.
- Short-sightedness (myopia): This means that a person sees objects that are nearby more clearly than objects that are far away
Eye health: what to look for
Kids generally don’t complain about their eyes and as such many issues can go undetected. While some vision problems are difficult to identify, others are quite obvious.
Common indicators of vision problems include:
- Frequently blinking or constantly rubbing eyes
- Tilting or turning of the head when the child is looking at something
- Squinting or other gestures that may indicate difficulty recognising things
- Holding a book up very close to the face when reading
- Difficulty reading
- Red or watery eyes
- One eye turn in while the other looks straight ahead
Take the guesswork out of your child’s eye health
Take action and get your kid’s eyes tested. Having your child’s eyes examined at birth, during infancy and regularly throughout their school years will help protect their eye health and identify any potential issues early on.
Perhaps it’s been on your ‘To Do’ list but something more pressing always crops up. Or simply taking a trip to the nearest optician is tricky when you have multiple kids in toe.
Taking your child to have their eyes tested is as important as their dental check-up or getting their vaccinations done, as early detection is vital for many vision concerns.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”Guess what? National Pharmacies Optical is giving FREE glasses to kids 12 and under“]
If you’re a South Australian Mumma, you should be jumping with joy right now. National Pharmacies brand new membership benefit means that all children 12 and under qualify for free glasses. Pretty good hey!
For just $82 per year, families can take out a National Pharmacies family membership, which entitles you to a bunch of discounts on beauty, fragrances, general pharmacy purchases, health services and more.
Not to mention free glasses for children 12 years and under.
National Pharmacies has 21 optical stores across South Australia. To qualify for their offer you simply need to:
- Be a South Australian resident (that’s where the 21 National Pharmacies Optical stores are located!)
- Be a National Pharmacies family member – if not already, it’s available for $82 a year
- Have a child 12 years and under that has been prescribed glasses
Eye facts
- An eye is about the same size as a ping-pong ball
- In bright light, the pupil shrinks to minimise the amount of light coming into the eye. It does the opposite in dim light, helping you to see better
- The optic nerve contains more than one million nerve fibres that carry visual messages between the retina and the brain
- Eyebrows act as light shades, reducing the amount of light that shines into the eyes
- Approximately one in five Australian children suffer from an undetected vision problem
- Once identified, many eye problems are easy to correct or treat
- The increased amount of time that children spend watching TV, playing on smartphones, iPads or on computers is leading to decreased time spent outdoors. And this is being linked to short-sightedness (myopia) in kids.
