Back to School Eye Exam: How to Prepare your Child for a Successful Academic Year

25% of ALL children have a vision problem that affects their school performance. And though your child may receive a free vision screening at school, it will only catch 20-30% of these vision problems. It becomes clear that a back to school eye exam should be on everyone’s school prep checklist.

Did anyone else have a recent wake-up-call (ie. freak-out), that Back-To-School is right around the corner?! For us here in Florida, it’s mid-August and we are soaking up every last drop of summer’s goodness while still being prepared.

With the twins expected to arrive right around the beginning of the school year, I wanted to make sure everything is ready for my other children to have successful academic years. I was shocked to find out that children may be misdiagnosed with learning disabilities such as ADHD or dyslexia when a vision problem is at the root of the issue. In fact, children with vision-related learning difficulties can have 20/20 eyesight but have problems with other key visual skills.

So, did I just blow your mind? Keep reading for more shocking information and some helpful tips while scheduling your back to school eye exam.

Back to School Eye Exam: How to Prepare your Child for a Successful Academic Year

Getting Ready for the School Year

The kids are excited to start all the back to school preparations. We’re making sure we’ve got every area covered, and along with doctor checkups and dental exams this summer; we didn’t want to miss another important part of preparing to hit the books, literally.

We’ve been shopping for school supplies, lunch supplies, and clothing items, so it’s time to schedule back to school eye exam appointments. With the hustle and bustle of everything else, it’s easy to overlook, but I’m realizing just how important it is. We made all of our back-to-school eye exam appointments so easily with MyEyeDr.com (a network of local optometry practices that offers comprehensive eye care services).

Our Back to School Eye Exam

75-90% of classroom learning is visual. That’s amazing, so it was wonderful to hear that all of our kids have great eyesight and didn’t need corrective lenses at their back to school eye exam. But it’s been a long time since I’ve had an exam so I scheduled mine right along with theirs… which took less than an hour for ALL of us (how great is that!)

Guess who now has glasses?!

The Shocking Truth About Screen Time

I was happy to find MyEyeDr. has a wide selection of designer and value prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses. Though I didn’t need corrective lenses after our back to school eye exam, the doctor recommended having slightly magnified lenses along with blue light correction for my continuous work on the computer screen. “Nearly 70% of Americans experience digital eye strain due to prolonged use of electronic devices,” says The Vision Council.

And with children getting over 7 hours a week on average of digital device time, myopia has doubled in the United States. That crazy!

It’s not that the computer is sending strange digital waves to your child’s eyes, it is that the eyes are “stretching” out of shape. One simple solution is to limit your child’s screen time, but more importantly, make sure they are going outside to play in the sunlight which helps your child naturally produce dopamine.

Helpful Tips if Your Child Needs Glasses

If you find out your child needs glasses at his back to school eye exam, I have some helpful tips.

• Let your little pick his frames. This helps with child buy-in and he will be more likely to wear and care for a pair of glasses he likes and feels confident in.
• Get the right material for your child. Plastic frames are better for children younger than 2.
• Polycarbonate lenses are a good choice for children, especially those who play sports. They are thin, lightweight, and impact-resistant, but they may scratch more easily than plastic.
• If your child wears metal frames, spring hinges are essential to make them last longer.
• An elastic strap attached to the glasses will help keep them in place for active toddlers.
• Make sure they fit well. Often children that don’t wear their glasses have issues with fit or proper lens alignment.
• Try on various rim shapes. A circular frame may soften a child’s appearance while an angular rectangle rim may create more impact.
• Go over glasses care with your child right away. Tell them if they aren’t on your face then they are in the case. Teach them how to clean their glasses and how not to clean their glasses to prevent unnecessary scratches.
• Buy a backup pair of glasses for your child. If you can afford to, purchase a second pair of cheaper glasses and hold onto them in case your child loses or breaks theirs. Another helpful tip is to keep this pair of glasses at school with your child’s teacher so you know they will always have glasses to learn if they forget them or break them at school.

For now though, I’ll just enjoy mine while I’m on my screens and devices!

Eye Care is Worth Every Penny

I’m realizing that eye care is so important, especially for this learning and growing season our kids are in!

Part of the reason we liked MyEyeDr., besides getting everyone in at the same time and the super family-friendly staff, is they make vision health attainable for everyone by accepting all vision insurance plans and providers. I feel so much better knowing our kids are ready for a successful academic year and don’t have any underlying vision issues a standard school vision test wouldn’t reveal.

Do you think your child may need glasses? Or do you make sure to get yearly or back to school eye exams?

Now is the perfect time to check out MyEyeDr.’s Back To School Sale for the best deal on children’s frames. Schedule a back to school eye exam to find out! Call MyEyeDr. at 1-866-693-9336 or visit www.myeyedr.com.

Have you scheduled your back-to-school eye exam yet?  Share in a comment below!