What are some signs my 6 yr old may need glasses?

Question

Every now and then I see him squinting at the tv. He reads great and his kindergarten teacher never said anything about it. He will be starting 1st grade next week. Should I wait till later in the year or just take him now?

I am nearsighted and have astigmatism but did not need glasses 'til I started driving.

To Kristi: I did not mean to give you a thumbs down I clicked the wrong one.

Answer 1

If he is squinting now call the eye dr to make an appt. He is old enough to go in for eye testing and they will tell you if he needs glasses now. Squinting is one of the signs. When he reads the books may be close enough for him to actually see enough to read (but he could still be having problems). If he starts complaining about his head or eyes hurting after reading or watching tv that is a sign. In 1st grade when he may get put in the back in the classroom you will find out quickly because he may not be able to see the board. I know the eye drs will take patients as soon as they can read some letters of the alphabet so go ahead and take him now.

Answer 2

Take him for the simple eye exam that they give him at his Pediatricians office (the eye chart). My 6 year old seemed to miss some letters when she was 5, but on the 2nd test she got them all correct. This year the problem was evident as one eye was a lot more blurry then the other when she was trying to see the letters.

The optometrist confirmed astigmatism that was worse in one eye.

Best to have him checked sooner than later. For learning purposes a child's brain will just shut off the learning from an eye that is weak so that the other eye can compensate. Thus when you test the weak eye it may not recognize the image that it is looking at.

Answer 3

1. Squinting
Squinting is much like looking through a pinhole. Peeking through a small opening reduces the size of the blurred image on the back of the retina. This temporarily improves vision and could be a sign of your child compensating for poor vision.

2. Tilting the head
Tilting the head can be a sign of an eye muscle imbalance or strabismus. A child may have double vision when looking down or in a certain direction. Tilting the head may minimize the double vision to a more manageable level.

3. Sitting too close to the television
Sitting very close to the television or lowering the head while reading is often a sign of nearsightedness. Nearsighted people generally have clear vision at a close range and poor vision at a distance. Moving closer to an object brings the object to their clear focal point and makes the image larger.

4. Losing place while reading
Skipping lines or losing your place while reading can be a sign of a vision problem. Often, astigmatism or an eye muscle problem such as strabismus is to blame.

5. Covering one eye to read or watch television
A child who covers one eye to read is simply shutting the eye with the poorer vision off so that it does not interfere with their vision. An uncorrected vision problem in one eye can increase a child’s risk of developing amblyopia. Covering one eye can also be a sign of double vision caused by strabismus or a more serious medical problem, such as a cataract.

6. Excessive tearing
Children often have lag ophthalmus, a condition which causes the eyes to dry out at night because the eyelids do not completely close while sleeping. This can cause excessive tearing during the day that interferes with good vision.

7. Rubbing eyes
Rubbing the eyes is a sign of eye fatigue and can be a sign of all types of vision problems. Medical conditions such as allergic conjunctivitis can also cause vision problems.

8. Finger pointing while reading
Finger pointing while reading is not always a bad sign. It is often seen in a child learning to read independently. However, it can be sign of an uncorrected vision problem such as amblyopia. Amblyopic eyes exhibit a ‘crowding’ phenomenon. When letters or words appear very close to other letters or words, it makes them difficult to recognize.

9. Light sensitivity
Children with exotropia, a type of strabismus, occasionally squint one eye when exposed to bright sunlight. This may be interpreted as light sensitivity.

10. Frequent headaches
Uncorrected farsighted children often have frontal headaches or brow aches. This is a result of the child attempting to compensate by exerting extra effort to clear their blurry vision.

Answer 4

Take him to the eye doctor now. Otherwise he may be squinting at the blackboard, or something the teacher has in the front of the room, and he will eventually get headaches. THis happened to me when I was about your son's age. I been wearing glasses for the past 27 years now, and I am 34 now.

Answer 5

My 6 year old son is the exact same way. What we have found that works well for him is to start the night before by helping to settle him down for the evening-no television, he gets a story read to him, and then is given 15 minutes afterwards to read to himself and then it's lights out. We also use calming music for him at night. His diet is also modified to have little processed foods and dyes. In the morning, we do a pre-wake up where we get him up 15 minutes before he actually gets moving and let him crawl into our bed to snuggle with us. This starts him moving and at 6:30 he is popped into the shower. He is given until the count of 3 to get in, and if he makes it, he receives a frog-20 frogs and he gets a prize(the frogs can also be taken away for not making it). He takes a 5 minute shower and then gets out and will get dressed immediately. If he is dressed and downstairs eating his breakfast by 6:45, he gets another frog. He has until 7 to eat his breakfast-again, he earns a frog for making it on time, then he has 10 minutes to brush his teeth, wash his face and get his shoes on and make sure his lunch is in his back pack. So, he can earn up to 4 frogs in the morning. At the end of the week, if he has kept to the schedule all week, he can earn a special prize, such as a new book, or a trip to the children's museum. Then it is a 1/2 hour drive or more for us to get to school and have him there by 7:50. We have the routine posted in several parts of the house and he has a watch to see what time it is. But, routine, rewards, and consistency are key to him getting going in the morning.

Answer 6

signs 6 yr glasses

Answer 7

He may have astigamtism like me. I squinted a lot when I was young too. Now I have glasses, but rarely need to use them. Astigmatism is a disorder where the clarity of one's vision is muffled, so he/she tends to squint in order to distinguish one thing from another. I'm sure if he is reading fine and doing well in school, there is nothing too serious. But take him for a check-up, believe me, I am no optomitrist. :)

Answer 8

If he reads all right but squints at the TV, it's possible that he's nearsighted and will eventually need glasses in order to see things far away, such as things written on a blackboard in school. Take him for an eye exam ASAP.

Answer 9

I would definitely take him now. If he needs glasses, better to let him start school with them. Squinting when trying to focus on something is a sure sign of needing glasses. I would take him to an eye Dr as soon as possible.

Answer 10

If your child is starting to squinting at the t.v and cant see the words on the pages when he is reading his book then you should take him NOW to the eye doctor and have his eyes checked. There is nothing worse then to find out you could have prevented your child going blind when you could have avoided that by taking him to the eye doctor a lot sooner then later.