Healthy eyes and strong, clear, vision can make it easier for children to learn and fulfill their dreams. In order to raise awareness about the importance of, and resources for, pediatric vision, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) has proclaimed August Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month.*

‘Children are unique’

“Children are unique, and so is their sight,” explains the website National Today. Safety and eye health are essential components of a fulfilling childhood and child development. Most childhood learning occurs visually; therefore, good vision is critical for a child’s physical and intellectual well-being.”

Parents need to be aware that kids don’t always know there are problems with their eyes. Signs of possible eye problems in children include:

• Eye rubbing
• Squinting
• Head tilting or turning to view objects
• Squeezing the eyes
• Eye wandering

Sadly, 5% of all children ages 3-5 have a serious eye problem. Without prompt treatment, permanent vision loss may result, yet it’s uncommon for preschool-aged kids to receive regular eye screening.

Eye diseases in children may include:

• Nearsightedness (myopia), or difficulty seeing distant objects
• Farsightedness (hyperopia), or difficulty seeing nearby objects
• Lazy eye (amblyopia), or impaired vision from poor early eye development
• Crossed eyes (strabismus), where both eyes are misaligned
• Drooping eyelid (ptosis), which can happen at birth

A pediatric optometrist can identify and treat these and other eye conditions.

The ‘Year of Children’s Vision’

Founded over a century ago to avoid unnecessary blindness in newborns, Prevent Blindness continues that mission today, providing resources to families, educators, nurses, and others to ensure healthy vision in children over the course of their lives.

In conjunction with Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month, Prevent Blindness has declared 2022 the “Year of Children’s Vision.” The organization offers toolkits, webinars, fact sheets, and other resources to prepare parents/caregivers, teachers, school nurses, and others to help optimize children’s health and success.  

• The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health (NCCVEH) at Prevent Blindness provides parents with extensive free information on children’s visual health, from infant to teen. For medical professionals, they offer programs like the “Small Steps for Big Vision” toolkit, vision screening certification, and children’s eye health reports.
• This year, Prevent Blindness began The Zenni Scholarship to Advance Children’s Vision that allows professionals free access to the vision screening certification program at Prevent Blindness. Additionally, Zenni Eyewear offers free Zenni eyeglass prescriptions to children who qualify.
• Prevent Blindness is also providing children with vouchers for free vision services by partnering with leading companies this year. Since 1999, Prevent Blindness and partner VSP Eyes of Hope have provided nearly 125,000 children free vision care and eyeglasses worth some $48 million.

Ensuring your child’s sight

August is a month to focus on your child’s eye health. Ways to observe Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month include:

• Raising awareness on social media with the hashtag #ChildrensEyeandSafetyMonth.
• Attending a presentation offered by the NCCVEH and Prevent Blindness.

Presentations, webinars, and other events by the NCCVEH and Prevent Blindness this August include:

• The eye expert online interview, “Partnering with School Nurses for Children’s Vision and Eye Health” with Donna Mazyck, Executive Director of the National Association of School Nurses
• The free webinar, “Vision Screening: Birth Through High School” (a two-part series, the first session will be on August 16 at 2 pm/EST)
• Two Facebook Live discussions: “Children’s Eye Safety” (August 16) and “Healthy Kids Summit (August 23)
• An updated Star Pupils: Healthy Eyes for Healthy Futures Curriculum toolkit for educators
• Presentations from “The Children’s Vision Forum,” held at the July 2022 Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health National Summit

Consider scheduling your child (and yourself) for an eye exam within the next 30 days.

More information, financial assistance

• Visit https://preventblindness.org/your-childs-sight for general information on eye health and safety in children,
• https://nationalcenter.preventblindness.org to learn more about NCCVEH programs, and
• https://preventblindness.org/vision-care-financial-assistance-information for a list of visual care financial assistance resources in both English and Spanish.

*Prevent Blindness. (2022, July 27). August is Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month, and 2022 Is the “Year of Children’s Vision” at Prevent Blindness. https://preventblindness.org/2022-childrens-eye-health-and-safety