Realizing the Impact of Your Child’s Vision on School Performance

Children who attend school are at a point in their lives where developmental aspects of social skills, physical growth, emotional health, and cognitive growth intersect. School attendance can do more than just provide insight into the scholastic aptitudes of a child. It presents an important opportunity for vision concerns that may have gone unnoticed at home to come to light. Children who need to wear glasses are able to buy prescription safety glasses that are appropriate for school-age activities, and which will have a positive impact on school performance.

Poor Vision and Poor Academic Performance

Vision has an unmistakable impact on quality of life, but an inability to see clearly can severely alter a child’s ability to thrive in a school setting. Myopia, or short-sightedness, often starts to develop between the ages of six and 12. It creates a challenge trying to see the screen at the front of a classroom or accurately identify manipulatives the teacher may be holding. Small children aren’t usually aware of their struggle to see and won’t report their difficulties to a teacher or parent.

The early stages of myopia cause some blurriness when viewing information far away. In the school classroom, this could be key information about problem-solving, reading clues, or spelling words. Children who struggle with counting skills or identifying numbers may be labeled as having learning difficulties, when it could just be a matter of undiagnosed eye problems. Just as employees rely on prescription safety glasses in order to do their job at work, many kids need prescription glasses to help them succeed in their school environment.

An inability to clearly distinguish between letters or numbers leads to confusion in areas of literacy. Students may feel embarrassed or ashamed that they aren’t able to clearly make out what the teacher may be pointing to or what the projector is showing. Any shortcomings on the academic side of their educational experience could lead to social and personality struggles. Feelings of inferiority, embarrassment, anger, and frustration can impact a student’s engagement and motivation to work hard.

Indications of Vision Problems

Younger children have a harder time realizing when their vision changes. It is generally up to teachers and parents to notice the signs of visual struggles. Children may complain of headaches or eye pain after a certain length of time staring at the television or at the board during class. Children may rub their eyes or frequently squint when trying to focus on a distant object. Inaccurate responses or poor copy work results during class may also be an indicator that the child wasn’t able to clearly see specified information.

Glasses and the Impact on School Performance

Corrective lenses are the easiest and most affordable solution for refractive errors and visions problems. Your pediatrician may test your child’s eyes during an annual wellness exam, but you will need an optician to diagnose the problem and prescribe the right lens strength. Children should have an eye examination the first year they start school, as it could preemptively keep the child from struggling in certain areas of performance.

School-age children tend to be very active and somewhat irresponsible with delicate items like glasses. Fortunately, the same manufacturers who have created nearly indestructible prescription safety glasses that meet OSHA regulations have produced both lenses and frames that can meet the demands of a child’s lifestyle. Parents can rest easy knowing that their child will be able to reengage with classroom activities without embarrassment and see the information needed to develop their literacy and numerical skills. Clearer eyesight is both a physical and mental for kids who may have been experiencing vision problems.

While you have come to love and trust the brands at Safety Gear Pro for your own eyesight and safety needs, these same brands can help your children as well. Shop our selection for the best in protective eyewear for the whole family.

About the Author

Sarah Grace Del Rosario is The Woman Behind the Thrifty Senyorita and shares thrifty ideas about style, food, fashion, and travel. 

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