A Macon Eye Doctor Explains Back-to-School Eye Exams

Clear vision plays a vital role in a child’s academic success, with as much as 80% of classroom learning relying on visual input. Routine school eye tests often miss subtle but significant vision problems, which can go unnoticed by children themselves. A comprehensive back-to-school eye exam with a qualified Macon eye doctor can detect these issues early, ensure healthy vision development, and set students up for a confident, productive school year—especially when scheduled well ahead of the end-of-summer rush.

Education is one of the single most important things that we can do for our children. It is truly the magic key that opens the door to a young person’s entire future and enables them to accomplish their dreams.

But if your child can’t see the board at the front of the room, struggles with reading from their textbooks, or suffers from another vision problem, their education will suffer, and the school day that should be opening possibilities becomes a source of frustration, anxiety, and doubt.

Ensuring clear vision for your children isn’t just better for their overall health, it’s a crucial component of their education. Every summer, they should receive a “back-to-school” eye exam – and this month, our Macon eye doctors are explaining why.

Your Kids Learn Visually

A study by the University of California – Los Angeles showed that vision is by far the sense that kids rely on the most when they’re learning. Fully 80% of the information that students learn comes through their eyes.

So, if your child is having trouble seeing, they could be missing out on as much as 80% of their education. Imagine being back in school and only getting 20% of the material. By the end of the first week, you’d be significantly behind in your studies, and by the end of the first month, you’d be so far behind that catching up would be almost impossible.

By turning to your trusted Macon eye doctor at a full-service vision center, you can give your child the best chance at a clear, productive school year.

School Eye Exams Aren’t Enough

As many as 25% of school-aged children are affected by some visual impairment. In the vast majority of cases, these are simple refractive errors – nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, or others. These are typically easy to correct with eyeglasses or contact lenses, and they’re the kind of problems that free school eye exams can catch.

But those aren’t the only kinds of vision issues that can affect children. Just because their eyes focus cleanly doesn’t mean that they’re experiencing clear vision.

Some of the conditions that can affect a child’s vision without necessarily affecting their visual acuity include:

Poor eye movement control
Lack of coordination between left and right eyes
Saccades dysfunctions that affect the ability to “scan” and read
Low accommodation flexibility, or the ability to switch between close vision and distant vision quickly
Reduced peripheral acuity, or the inability to see things that aren’t directly ahead

None of these conditions will show up on a school eye-acuity test – but they can have just as much negative impact on your child’s education as blurry vision.

Eye Problems Are Easy for Kids to Miss

Children, especially younger children, often don’t know that they’re experiencing vision trouble. If they’ve always had low visual acuity, they may think the world is just a naturally blurry place. If the problem is developing, it may be happening so slowly that they can’t see it. They may know something’s wrong but lack the verbal skills necessary to explain what’s going on.

That means that your kids may be unable to tell you if something’s going on with their eyes. You can certainly spot changes in a young person’s behavior if their eyesight starts to degrade, but even that’s not 100% reliable.

If you provide your child with an annual back-to-school eye exam, your Macon eye doctor can spot minor issues and begin making corrections long before a problem becomes severe. That’s actually one of our favorite things to see: the way a young person’s eyes light up when they suddenly see an entirely new world of crisp, precise shapes and bright, defined colors.

Even Kids With Perfect Vision Need Check-Ups

Even if your kid has laser reflexes, can read a road sign from a mile off, and can track a major leaguer’s line drives from all the way in the cheap seats, that doesn’t mean they don’t need a back-to-school eye exam.

As noted above, most vision problems come on gradually, and early correction means that your child doesn’t fall behind because of an emerging eye problem.

Your child’s back-to-school exam also includes several tests to measure general eye health. These examine things like the eyes’ internal pressure, the health of the blood vessels in the retina, and other conditions that need to be addressed now to prevent more serious problems in the future.

At a back-to-school eye exam, you’ll also have time to talk with your Macon eye doctor one-on-one about how best to maintain your child’s eye health, including tips like:

Planning and sticking to an eye-healthy diet for your family
The importance of wearing sunglasses on sunny days
Ways to avoid eye strain
Selecting the proper eye protection for athletics, pastimes, and other activities

Schedule Your Back-to-School Eye Exams Now

It’s essential to schedule your child’s back-to-school eye exam sooner rather than later. Why? Well there are a few reasons:

Appointments book quickly in July and August as more and more parents bring their kids to their Macon eye doctor.
Glasses or contacts can take a few weeks to be made and delivered, so the sooner you can get them ordered, the better.
Glasses and contacts can also take a person a few weeks to adapt to.
If there’s a serious vision issue, being seen early gives our team the best chance to make a difference before school starts.

Don’t wait until the last couple of weeks of summer to schedule your back-to-school eye exams. Seeing your Macon eye doctor now gives plenty of time for your child’s vision to be evaluated, corrective lenses to be made if needed, and for your student to get used to their new lenses.

Don’t Let Poor Vision Stand Between Your Child and Their Future! Call Eyesight Associates to Schedule a Back-to-School Eye Exam Today!

With eight locations around Middle Georgia and the Golden Isles, we’re always close at hand to help you get your kids ready for the next school year! Call 478-923-5872 to learn more or make an appointment.