It’s almost back-to-school time, which means it’s time to start thinking about everything your kids might need to have a successful year in the classroom. By making big trips to buy new clothes and school supplies, it’s easy to forget about one of the most important things your child may need: kids glasses. 

As a parent of a child who depends on glasses every day, I know how important it is for my son Jonas to have regular optical check-ups before the school year to ensure his prescription is up to date, allowing him to be as successful as he can be for the year ahead. 

Before the new school year officially starts, here are a few reasons why it’s important to keep your children’s eyesight in mind before heading back to school. 

1. Children might not realize they have vision issues or need the help of glasses. There are not always clear signs or warnings that lead a parent to question if their child needs or would benefit from wearing prescriptive eyewear, and at the same time, children might not realize they need to either. Because every set of eyes is different and vision can change at various stages, it’s best to receive regular eye exams.  For most kids, this is often recommended every 6 months. Before taking the first step of visiting an eye doctor, there are a few simple warning signs that you can be on alert for that might indicate its time to pay a visit to the eye doctor. A few symptoms to be aware of are: 

• Squinting or rubbing of eyes

• Holding objects close to the face

• Lack of concentration

• Constant headaches

• Haziness or clouding in the pupil

We recommend scheduling an appointment with a local optometrist or with a national vision center, such as Walmart Vision Center, to get your child’s eyes checked, but you can also do a basic home eye test. Keep in mind that home eye testing is not a substitute for a complete medical eye examination by an optometrist.

2. Your children’s pediatrician may not catch that your children’s eyes need visual correction. While it’s also important to visit a pediatrician before going back to school, these check-ups don’t always include an eye screening. The next time you plan a visit to the doctor, keep this in mind and be sure to plan ahead! I always recommend doing some research beforehand on some local, kid-friendly eye doctors that offer glasses for kids and will be able to give your child a proper eye exam to evaluate if they do need glasses or not. 

3. Too much screen time every day and not enough outdoor time could cause or contribute to your child developing myopia (nearsightedness). New studies are beginning to show that children’s eyes are facing greater strain and are elongating due to too much screen time (elongation of the eye is linked to myopia). If your child has historically had and continues to have a significant amount of screen time this summer, it is definitely beneficial to have their eyes checked to see if their vision is changing. When you visit an eye doctor, make sure to discuss screen time and eye strain with them and get their recommendations for preventing long term damage.

To help decrease eye strain and the potentially harmful effects of screen time in the future, Jonas Paul Eyewear offers both non-prescription as well as prescription blue-light blocking lenses protect children’s eyes from increased blue-light exposure from frequent screen time.

Overall, if your child does need glasses, don’t worry! It’s a new, exciting time in their life. If you need tips and tricks on what to do once you find out you’ll be in need of kids prescription glasses, you can read a few of my recommended next steps here. 

Laura Harrison

Tinybeans Voices Contributor

Laura, co-founder and COO of Jonas Paul Eyewear, started the brand with her husband shortly after their first child, Jonas, was born with a rare-eye condition. From there, Jonas Paul Eyewear was created with the mission of creating stylish eyewear and providing sight to children in need with every purchase.