Children's Vision Month

A 1 4 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2019 With social media becoming increasingly popular, plus academic demands, there's no fighting it — your children are going to be glued to screens of one size or another at all hours of the day. Attention Parents: October is Children's Vision Month • 60% of children who struggle with reading and learning have undiag- nosed vision problems that are not detected by most vision screenings. • Children who once struggled go from failure to success when their vision problems are treated! INFANT EYESIGHT TAKES TIME TO DEVELOP Doctor of Optometry Irene Mestito-Dao of Henderson Vision Centre with patient Ava, eight months old, and her father. Photo by Jason Halstead Physical development happens slowly in infants. In many people's minds, that development starts with a baby learning to crawl. From there, they typically gain the co-ordination and body awareness required to get up on their own two feet and walk. Vision assists in this, and paying attention to your child's visual development is important. Visual development doesn't happen overnight, says Doctor of Optometry Irene Mestito-Dao of Henderson Vision Centre. "When babies are born, their vision isn't fully developed," she says. "Everything is a blur, and they see in black and white. They can only focus about eight to 10 inches in front of their face so they can only see things that are close to them." The good news is that sight starts to develop rapidly. Infants start to track moving objects with their eyes and reach for things. As they develop eye-hand co-ordination and learn to use their two eyes together, eyes may appear to wander or be crossed. "By two months, babies can focus on things like the faces of their parents," explains Mestito-Dao. "It's normal for the eyes to not work together at times but if parents see an eye turning in or out constantly, they should bring the infant to see their eye doctor. By the time they're three to four months old, their eyes should be following many of the activities happening around them. The next visual development milestone occurs when babies reach the age of five months. "At that point, they start to get depth perception and colour vision. Between five and eight months, parents will start to notice their child reaching for the mobile above their crib. From about five months on, it's all about stimulating your child's vision so it develops properly." Now that a baby's vision is getting sharper, at eight months or so they will start to try to grab objects. Around the same time, they will start to crawl. Mestito-Dao says it's important to encourage infants to crawl, even if they want to get upright and try to walk. "Crawling helps babies develop eye- hand-foot-body co-ordination, so we recommend that parents encourage their child to crawl and learn how to use all four limbs. By nine months, a child should be starting to grab objects with their hand or forefinger." It's also at that time — if not earlier — that parents should make an appointment with a Doctor of Optometry for an eye exam. "We recommend getting that first eye exam between the ages of six and nine months," she says. "During the exam, we'll check for proper eye movement, co- ordination, eye health, and measure eyes to see if a corrective prescription might be required. We just want to make sure a child's eyes are within the right targets." The next eye exam should take place when the child is three years old. Mestito-Dao says, "parents should also monitor visual development. If there are any concerns, bring your child to your eye doctor for a complete eye exam." What should parents look for? "Teary eyes or crusty eye lids," she says. "An infant's tear ducts can be closed for up to three months after birth, so if you see excessive tearing or discharges past three months, bring your child in to your Doctor of Optometry for a look. If you think they have an eye infection, bring them in right away." Parents should also look for other visual issues. "Always bring them in if they have a constant eye turning, or if they're extremely sensitive to light. Oversensitivity can signal an eye infection, eyestrain or elevated pressures," she says. "We don't want to scare parents, but it's better to be safe than sorry. If an issue persists, bring your child in for an eye exam as soon as you can. Children's eye exams are covered by Manitoba Health, so there's no cost." In short, parents need to play an active role in developing and safeguarding their child's vision. "Early on, it's all about stimulating your child's eyes, so doing little things like keeping reach-and-touch toys eight to 10 inches from their face or changing the way they look at their mobile in their crib helps develop vision. Parents also need to watch for any potential vision problems. If you detect something, bring your child in right away — we're ready to help." BY TODD LEWYS "We recommend getting that first eye exam between the ages of six and nine months."

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