Don’t Fail Your Child Before School Starts

 

 

It is hard to believe that the summer is already half way over! And that means it is time to start thinking about getting your child ready for “Back to School.”

 

You may not realize it, but approximately 80% of our learning involves our vision! Therefore, it stands to reason that good vision is essential to what your child learns. Unfortunately, studies show that only 31% of children between the ages of 6 and 16 have an annual eye exam. Furthermore, approximately 70% of children younger than six, the age at which most vision problems can be treated before permanent damage occurs, have never had an eye exam. That means when children across our country go back to school this fall, some 20 million of them will go back with vision problems that may interfere with their ability to learn and may also contribute to disciplinary problems.

 

We are fortunate that Charleston County has a program in place to do vision screenings in our schools and you may think that those will let you know if your child has a vision issue. Well, that is not entirely true. According to the NIH (National Institutes of Health), vision screenings detected only 40-65% of children with vision problems. While that is very helpful, that also means that the same number are going undetected. That is why we recommend that every child have a comprehensive eye exam every year, even if they pass their school screening. That way, we can detect these vision issues and address them before they become more of a problem.

 

Now is the perfect time to bring your child in to make sure they are set up for a successful school year. Call us at 843-388-6200 or go online to schedule your child’s examination today!