This document discusses signs that a preschooler may need glasses and the importance of identifying vision problems early. Some common vision conditions like nearsightedness and farsightedness are often congenital and caused by the shape of the eyeball. If a child has trouble seeing letters or becomes frustrated when learning to read, it could indicate an underlying vision problem requiring glasses. The first step for a parent concerned about their child's vision is to schedule an eye exam with their GP or optician.

1. Does your child need
glasses?

2. We all know that as we get
older, our eyesight tends to go.
However, a lot of people need
glasses at a younger age.

3. Some people start having to use
glasses in their teens and some
need them when they’re even
younger.

4. But how can you tell if your pre-
schooler needs glasses?

6. If your pre-schooler does need
glasses, it’s best if you can pick
up on this straight away.

7. At Friday’s Child Montessori,
and at nearly every Montessori
early learning centre worth its
salt, we believe in helping
children move onto reading
skills as soon as they show the
aptitude for it.

8. But if your child has problems
with vision, this could prove to
be a real barrier to their
learning.

9. Waiting until school isn’t a good
idea, as a child who is ready to
learn their letters but has
trouble seeing them and
recognising them will easily
become frustrated.

11. This will lead to the early days of
reading being filled with tension
and anxiety, rather than being a
stage when a whole new world
of discovery opens up.

12. Often, the problems that mean
that a child will need glasses are
congenital (i.e. they’re born with
the problem).

13. This is especially the case with
short-sightedness (short vision
or myopia) and long-sightedness
(farsightedness or hyperopia).

14. In these conditions, often the
problem is in the shape of the
eyeball.

15. In a normal eye, the eyeball is
exactly the right length so that
the light rays going through the
lens of the cornea will be
focussed when they reach the
retina on the back of the eyeball.

16. However, if the eyeball is too long or
too short, the focal point is either
forward of the retina or beyond it,
meaning that the light rays (and
thus the image) that reaches the
retina isn’t focused properly and
looks all blurry.

17. The thickness of the cornea also
creates problems – it’s the
thickening of the lens during or
after middle age that causes
age-related short-sightedness
(also known as presbyopia).

19. There are other problems that
may require your child to wear
glasses. Astigmatism is another
problem that is also caused by
an odd-shaped eyeball.

20. If a person of any age has
astigmatism, nearby things and
far away things will look blurry.
Again, glasses are the most
common corrective.

21. Some of these problems show
up in later childhood or in the
teen years.

22. In many ways, it’s easier for a
parent when children get
problems with vision at this age,
as he or she can notice the
trouble and complain about it.

23. For example, they’ll tell you that
the words on the page or the
pictures on the screen are
blurry, which is a real giveaway.

24. If you suspect that your child
has a problem with his/her
vision, then your first port of call
should be your GP.

25. An eye test will soon see for
certain if your child has a
problem, and your next stop will
be the optician or the eye
specialist to get glasses with the
lenses that will correct your
child’s unique problem.

26. This article is brought to you by:
Fridays Child Montessori