Parents - Vision Health
Sports can help improve your child’s health, combat obesity, and boost their self-esteem. For many, sports can be an integral part of childhood, help with college admission and tuition, and instill values that will help them stay active throughout adulthood. However, as with any physical activity, there is always a risk of accidents and injury.
Ensuring your child has healthy vision can significantly lower those risks. If your child has a hard time seeing the ball or other players, they will have a difficult time catching, passing, and safely maneuvering through obstacles and other players. Vision problems can be subtle and often your child may not realize that they have visual concerns.
Unfortunately, many parents do not realize their child suffers from undiagnosed vision impairments that raise the risk of injury. Therefore, it is important that you know the signs that your child may be suffering from a vision impairment and have them regularly visit an eye doctor.
If your child exhibits the following warning signs, make sure they see an eye doctor right away:
Blurred vision
Difficulties at night ( indoors) vs daytime sport environments
Headaches
Double vision
Difficulty tracking targets
Depth perception concerns, missing catches, shooting balls high or low of targets
Poor timing
Slowed decision making on the field
Consistent difficulties effectively running plays designed by the coach
Irritated eyes during sport
Light sensitivity
Inconsistency with performance
Remember, it is important that your children regularly see an eye doctor even if they pass a school screening or do not exhibit signs of vision problems. Not all vision impairments have obvious warning signs, and not all impairments immediately impact performance. It is better for your child to be treated by an eye doctor before their poor vision becomes obvious and begins to impact their sports or school performance. Furthermore, your child’s vision may be “good enough” to pass a school screening, but their vision may still not be good enough to safely play their sport. Even if they pass a school screening, they should still regularly see an eye doctor.
How to find a SV provider: https://www.sportsvisionpros.com/find-a-sv-provider.html
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