Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month recognizes the importance of maintaining optimal vision and eye safety for children. Early childhood is a crucial period for identifying and addressing vision issues, and proper eye health is essential for children’s overall development and learning. Head Start is committed to providing comprehensive care to ensure the full potential of every child, and this includes vision and eye care.
The Importance of Children’s Eye Health
Vision is not merely about seeing clearly; it forms the bedrock for learning, literacy, motor skills, and self-image. A child with healthy vision is better equipped to navigate the world, engage in educational activities, and develop crucial social-emotional skills. The significance of visual health is underscored by its role in keeping children safe, allowing them to remain vigilant about potential hazards in their surroundings.
The foundation for a lifetime of eye health is laid during childhood, making it imperative to prioritize early detection and intervention for vision disorders. Recognizing this, the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS), the set of requirements all Head Start agencies must adhere to, mandates vision screening for enrolled children. These screenings are a proactive measure to identify and address potential vision issues early on, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive academically and socially.
The Prevalence of Eye Conditions in Children
According to the National Center for Children's Vision and Eye Health, as many as 1 in 17 preschool-aged children may have an undiagnosed eye condition. Within the Head Start community, this prevalence is even more pronounced, with an estimated 1 in 5 children served by these programs having undetected eye conditions. This statistic sheds light on the critical role that Head Start plays in bridging the gap and ensuring that vulnerable children receive the eye care they need.
Common vision disorders in children encompass a range of conditions, including refractive errors like nearsightedness and farsightedness, strabismus (misalignment of the eyes), vision loss, and amblyopia, commonly known as a "lazy eye." Additionally, children are susceptible to eye infections, injuries, and malignancies, further emphasizing the need for comprehensive eye care within early childhood education.
Measures to Protect Children's Eyes
In addition to proactively screening for eye conditions and maintaining eye health, it is also vital to take precautions to prevent unintentional eye injuries. Follow these recommendations to safeguard children's vision:
• Always actively supervise children.
• Give and enforce rules for the safe use of toys, games, and other objects in the classroom or home.
• Ensure a child never aims a toy at another child.
• Do not allow the use of dangerous toys, such as projectiles or toys with small parts or sharp edges. Follow suggested age guidelines on all toys and games, and actively supervise play.
• Encourage regular use of protective eye gear. According to the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, nearly half of all eye injuries in children are caused by sports and recreational activities.
• Prevent accidental eye exposures to bleach and other harsh chemicals by safely storing them away from children and employing child locks.
• Adults should pump hand sanitizer for children. Do not place sanitizer pumps within children's reach, and do not use stands that pump the sanitizer at children's eye level. Try to prevent children from rubbing their eyes after using hand sanitizer, and provide first aid if a child gets hand sanitizer in their eye. Flush the eyes with water and seek immediate medical care.
• Limit screen time to reduce eye strain and premature eye aging.
• Encourage a balanced diet with vitamins that support eye health, such as vitamin A.
• Encourage children to wear sunglasses or a sun visor when outdoors during peak sun hours.
• Discourage dangerous activities, such as running with sharp objects or playing with fireworks.
• Familiarize yourself with eye safety and stay up to date with current best practices in eye health and safety.
Review more tips on preventing common eye injuries and what to do when they occur here.
Children’s Eye Health and Safety Resources
The Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center’s “Vision Screening” page offers valuable information and resources to help health services staff and others learn more about vision screening, including evidence-based practices for conducting screenings, communicating with families about screenings and needed follow-up, and providing services to children with vision loss. It also provides information about vision screening and eye health for toddlers here.
The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness partnered with the National Head Start Association to create “Small Steps for Big Vision,” an online resource to provide information, suggested actions, and assistance caregivers need to be empowered partners in children’s vision and eye health. To learn more, caregivers can visit the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s “20 Things to Know About Children’s Eyes and Vision.” They can use this resource, developed by the National Eye Institute, to help children learn about their own eye health.
Resource Links
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/safety-practices/article/preventing-responding-eye-injuries
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/physical-health/article/vision-screening
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/publication/vision-screening-eye-health-toddlers-head-start-programs
https://nationalcenter.preventblindness.org/small-steps-for-big-vision/
https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/tips-children-eyes-vision
https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/nei-for-kids