Children's Vision
Is your child struggling at school? A '20/20' result doesn't rule out a vision problem.
Vision is the main sense used at school, so it matters more for learning than most parents realise. A lot of subtle visual issues get missed at a school screening or even a routine eye exam, because your child might have "20/20" vision but be straining hard and concentrating extremely hard to get there.
Most children with learning difficulties don't have a significant refractive error. They're not significantly long-sighted, short-sighted, or astigmatic. Instead, they have minimal glasses prescription but real trouble with how they focus, align, and track their eyes together. If you have any concerns about your child's learning or school performance, it's worth understanding how their eyes are actually working.
What should I look out for?
Eye teaming
- Double vision
- Headaches
- Words moving on the page
- Covering or closing one eye to read
- Poor reading posture
- Tilting the head to read or write
- Excess blinking
- Motion sickness
Focusing
- Avoiding small print
- Fatigue when reading
- Blurred vision when reading
- Eye strain
- Frontal headaches
- Short attention span reading
- Holding books very close
- Rubbing eyes when concentrating
Eye tracking
- Losing their place often
- Skipping words or lines
- Using a finger to keep place
- Poor eye-hand coordination
- Moving the head when reading
- Reading slowly
- Reading comprehension dropping over time
- Difficulty copying from the board
Visual processing
- Good verbal but poor written comprehension
- Trouble learning left and right
- Reverses letters and numbers
- Untidy handwriting
- Frequently erases work
- Poor page organisation
- Trouble with basic maths
- Poor recall of visual material
Motor ability
- Poor gross motor coordination
- Difficulty with scissors or small tools
- Dislikes or avoids sports
- Difficulty catching or hitting balls
Eyewear for children
Finding eyewear for young children can be tricky, so I've put together a range of lightweight, soft, comfortable, easy-to-maintain, and affordable options. Most come with a complimentary strap you can swap in when the glasses need to be extra secure.
Bendy Series
Lightweight, soft, and flexible, exclusive to Carina Eye Care. My go-to when parents are worried about kids being rough on their glasses.
Highly adjustable Korean-made frames with different nose pads for different noses, plus a strap, screwdriver, and spare parts included.
Indestructible, flexible frames widely recommended by paediatricians and ophthalmologists internationally.
Eco-plastic frames in a slim, lightweight design with soft rubber nose pads for kids' faces.
A range of kids' frames; the Tomato and Bendy Series come with a complimentary strap add-on for extra security.
Where this experience comes from
In between COVID lockdowns in 2021, I had the chance to work with Dr Shaun Chang and the Eyes2Learn team in Newcastle, who do great work in children's vision. That's where I learned to assess and manage the subtler vision issues that a regular eye exam can miss.
Let's take care of your eyes!
By appointment only
Book your eye test with Carina
No referral needed. Medicare rebates apply.