This is a guest post by Maggie Voelker. Thanks for the great useful info Maggie!

It’s simple to tell when your child has a cold or a tummy ache—they tell you. Vision problems though, are much more difficult for children to articulate. Many times issues go unnoticed because children have no idea that they can’t see properly. This can lead to frustration, problems in school, or worsening vision if left untreated. So what steps should parents take to ensure that their children’s eyes and vision are healthy?

Warning Signs

According to the Eye Health Guide, parents should keep an eye open for these warning signs that might indicate that your child has poor vision or an eye problem.

• Crossed, turned-out, or non-focused eyes
• White, grayish, or yellow material in the pupil
• Eyes that quickly flutter from side-to-side or up and down
• Bulging eyes
• Persistent redness
• Puss or crust
• Watery eyes
• Droopy eyelids
• Excessive rubbing or squinting
• Eyes that are sensitive to light
• Any abnormal changes

When to See an Eye Doctor

Infants three months and older should be able to track or follow an object. Try moving a favorite toy across their field of vision to see if your child can follow its movement. Many parents worry about babies crossing their eyes occasionally. For children less than four months, this is normal, though continually crossed eyes or turned-out eyes should be assessed by a physician.

At six months of age, infants should have the same focusing ability, color vision, and depth perception as adults. It’s at this age that infants should undergo a basic eye exam to ensure that their eyes are developing normally. The eye doctor will be able to assess your baby’s visual acuity, detect nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and evaluate his eye teaming and alignment.

According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), after the initial visit at six months of age, children should have another exam at age three and then around age 5 or 6, before the child enters school. This will allow enough time to catch and correct any vision problems that might interfere with learning.

The Exam

The AOA estimates that 5 to 10 percent of preschool children and 25 percent of school-aged children have vision problems. Thus, it’s imperative that your child gets adequate eye care. Depending on your child’s age the specifics of an eye exam may differ, but generally the exams will include a case history, vision testing, determination of whether eyeglasses are needed, testing of eye alignment, and an eye health evaluation.

Be prepared to answer the following questions or share the following information with the eye doctor:

1. History of prematurity
2. Family history of delayed motor development
3. Family history of eye problems
4. Frequent eye rubbing
5. Excessive blinking
6. Unable to keep eye contact
7. Inadequate tracking skills

Finally, if your child is old enough to understand, prepare your child for his or her exam by explaining that the doctor will be looking into their eyes and showing them pictures. Reassure them that there are no needles, but that the doctor may put drops in their eyes. Schedule your child’s appointment at a time when he or she is usually alert and happy (not a naptime!), and don’t forget, a sticker, lollipop, or new book is always appreciated after a successful appointment.

For more information on your child’s eyes visit the Eye Health Guide.

Guest author Maggie, works as a content writer in Indianapolis, IN. With an educational background in science and health, she enjoys staying abreast of the latest health and medical news and sharing this information with others. Outside of work, Maggie enjoys staying active, traveling, and trying new restaurants.

This is a guest post.

There’s little as sad as a child who’s caught something and becomes sick for Christmas vacation or even worse, on Christmas day. Yet, not surprisingly, our children get sick over the holidays far too often. Not only are our children likely to be overly excited, getting less sleep, and stretched thin from more activities than normal, they’re also usually lacking the healthy diet that their bodies have become used to, and to top it all off, the winter air environment is just right for the flu virus to flourish.

This year as we enter into the end of November and find December just around the corner, I encourage you to follow some of these favorite tips of mine to ensure that your children stay happy and healthy all through the holiday season.

Cut a Few Activities

I know it feels like every activity is necessary, but sometimes there’s an extra ice skating party or a holiday get together that really isn’t absolutely crucial to go to. And when it means putting the kids to bed at their normal bedtime, sometimes it’s worth it. Pick the absolute must-go-tos (school plays and band recitals!) and then try to limit overly excessive activities out and about.

Watch Your Children’s Diet

This is probably the tip that I would emphasize the most. When your child’s diet suddenly becomes less of the highly nutritional, well balanced meals that are norm and replaced with quick fast-prep style foods lacking nutritional value, your child is likely to become tired, irritable and even less focused on normal day-to-day tasks. Add lots of extra sweets and candy to the diet, and your child is even more likely to be all of the above. Not only that, poor nutrition and lack of necessary vitamins and minerals can also compromise the body’s immune system.

This means you’ve got tired, irritable children who are already lacking resistance to fight off diseases that are running rampant right now.

Attempt a Routine

Stress is another huge factor in compromising immune system. And, with all the hustle, bustle of the time period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, there’s bound to be extra stress in your child’s life. The easiest way to combat this is to attempt to stick as close to their normal routine as you possibly can. Even if there are two extra activities in the day, stick to a normal wake-up time, a normal “get-ready” regimen, and at the very least, a normal bedtime.

Evenings will probably be the hardest time to stick to a routine, as that’s when most holiday outings are happening, but if you can make the rest of the day as normal and routine as possible, your child will not feel completely lost. Any semblance of normalcy gives your child a feeling a safety and of comfort. Unwavering at bed times and wake ups is an excellent starting point.

Plan in Advance

Planning in advance will take some extra time and effort on your part, but it can be the difference between healthy kids and children who wake up sick. Plan to make and do things on a schedule so that you know exactly what you can and cannot make happen. If you won’t have time to pack lunches one day or you know that a sit-down meal will be impossible on another, schedule in time in advance when you can get those things done.

Start working of stocking the freezer now with healthy meals you can pull out in a flash. Keep lots of fruits and veggies on hand so that you can pull them out in moments of starvation and not resort to the plate of Christmas cookies that just got dropped off. Find some fun, healthy “treats” you can feel good about your children indulging in. Maybe instead of a freezer filled with peppermint ice cream, you can go for frozen bananas dipped lightly in dark chocolate and sprinkled with peppermint candies.

Instead of sugary cookies, make your own rice krispies with the brown rice variety of your store and add in festive fun with food coloring instead of red and green candies.

Keep Your Home Environment Healthy

If you can’t keep your kids away from germs any other place, try to maintain your home as much of a germ-free haven as you possibly can. Keep lots of disinfectant on stock and make it a habit to wash and disinfect hands as soon as you enter the home. You can also help to prevent the flu virus from thriving by using a humidifier in your home. Studies have shown that the influenza virus is most likely to survive in dry, low-humidity conditions, the conditions that enable it to stay airborne longer. By keeping your home air humidity up, you can help prevent the flue from spreading, even if someone in your family does come home with it.

While certainly not foolproof, hopefully these tips will help you keep your precious children healthy all season long so they can make the most of it every moment of every day. Here’s to a happy healthy season for your whole family!

Freelancer Jocelyn loves to write about families and particularly enjoys focusing on healthy eating. At the moment she’s blogging about keeping homes safe and comfortable with humidifiers and home electric heaters.

Unfortunately, there is not a simple answer to this question as it will depend on your child’s individual circumstances but it is generally recommended for children under the age of 16 to have their eyes tested at least every year. This is regardless of whether your child has perfect eye sight or not and it is as much to check the health of their eyes as it is to check their vision.

People wrongly assume that they do not need to take their child to the Optometrist if they are having no visual problems. The reason this is wrong is because your child may have visual problems but either you or your child are not aware! What is also extremely important to mention here, is how important it is to get your child’s eyes tested as young as possible. Most Optometrists will test children’s eyes from the age of about 2 years old providing they have the appropriate equipment.

The reason it is important for your child to have their eyes tested when they are young is because if they are found to have a lazy eye or another visual problem, they will respond better to treatment. Once a child reaches the age of about 7 years old, it is virtually impossible to treat a lazy eye. Contrary to what many parents believe, laser eye surgery cannot correct a lazy eye.

Will my child ever need to have an eye test more than once per year?

Lots of children have eye tests more frequently than once per year and this is especially the case if they are under the age of 7 years old. If your child is under the age of 7 and has to wear glasses, then you can expect them to be seen by the Optometrist every 6 months. If your child has a lazy eye that is being treated with eye patching, then your Optometrist may monitor this as often as every month.

How do I choose a good pediatric Optometrist?

All Optometrists are trained to be able to examine children of all ages but there are a few questions
that you should ask your Optometrist before taking your child to see them:

• How young will you test children’s eyes: Some Optometrists do not feel comfortable testing
  children under the age of 4 years old so this is something you will need to check first.
• Do you have a lot of experience in pediatric Optometry: It is important that your
  Optometrist has a lot of experience in testing young children as it can be quite challenging,
  especially if they are under the age of 4 years old! Think how difficult it is for you to get your
  child to do what you are asking!
• Have you had any additional training in pediatric Optometry: Some Optometrists will have
  taken additional courses to improve their skills in pediatrics.

In addition to this, as parents you should be able to gauge for yourself if your Optometrist is ‘child
friendly’. Young children can find eye tests quite stressful and having an Optometrist who can
make it a fun and friendly encounter will make a huge difference. Your child may have to have eyes
drops (which sting!) instilled into their eyes and they may have to see the Optometrist on multiple
occasions, so being comfortable with him/her will make both your life and your child’s life much
easier!

This article was written by Tim, an Optometrist with over 10 years of experience in Pediatric
Optometry. Tim also is a laser eye surgery Optometrist and provides help through his laser eye
forum. Tim also provides eye related information for his own website TreatmentSaver.com. As
an Optometrist, Tim believes that the single most important factor in making a good paediatric
Optometrist is being able to put the child at ease. We are after all a stranger and are asking your
child to do things they don’t normally do. It is amazing how cooperative a child will be if you at least
make the effort to be friendly with them at the start!