How to Tell if Your Toddler Needs Glasses

Your toddler is not going to know to tell you if something is hard to see or blurry. They do not know what this means or that it is not normal. It is all they are used to. You will need to watch out for signs and do some home tests to check your child’s vision. If you are concerned about your child’s vision, you should make an appointment with their optometrist.

An easy sign to watch out for is if your child is sitting to close to the television. If your child is doing this, ask them to scoot back and see if they keep moving back. Toddlers could be sitting so close because they are excited. Once you have them move back, if they keep scooting forward it could be an eye issue.

Another similar sign, is if your child’s face is extremely close to the paper they are coloring on all the time. We all get close to papers every once in a while, but a continual habit of this, is a sign your child is having difficulties seeing.

Squinting is another sign of vision issues. We have all squinted when trying to see something in the distance, but if your child is squinting very often you should have them checked out.

Playing vision games with your child is a great test to see if there is an issue. As you are driving in the care or walking down the street, ask your child if they see things off in the distance. Have them describe the item to you by color, shape or what it is near. Have your child shut one eye and then the other to test each eye separately.

Your child should have their first eye exam around 3 or 4. Do not wait until they get to school. That way if there is a vision problem, you can get it corrected and your child used to glasses before school begins.