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Every parent is concerned about the health and well-being of their child. After all, vision helps them to see and feel the world, perceive information, communicate with people, achieve future professional excellence and socialise in society.
Eye exercises for preschoolers are effective in improving vision and preventing various eye diseases. There is no specific age limit and they should be practised from an early age to prevent possible problems later on.
The most important rule when doing eye exercises is that they should be simple, fun and not boring. If the exercises are complicated and incomprehensible, it is impossible to interest a fidgety child. It is much better to do the exercises together with your child. This way you can control the quality of the exercises and set a good example for your child.
Here are some simple, non-boring exercises:
- Ask your child to close his or her eyes and count to three. Then ask your baby to open his or her eyes. Repeat this three times. The aim is to teach him to contract and relax his eyes.
- Show your baby an example. Ask him to look at the tip of his nose and do the same.
- Turn your eyes together, looking first to the right, then to the left, then back to the right.
- Ask your child to use their eyes to look for objects on a flat surface. Some objects may be close by, others may require looking far away.
- Go to a window and look at people passing by. Ask your child to describe what they are wearing and what they do. Choose those walking near you as well as those walking further away.
- Ask your child to draw a geometric shape in the air using only their eyes. This could be a triangle, a circle or a rectangle.
- Play a game of tiddlywinks. This old and simple game helps your child to focus on the object (in this case your hand) and relax the eye muscles.
In addition to exercises, it’s good to keep some guidelines in mind when organising your child’s life and space:
- Encourage active play outside. This can be physical games or sports. Rest and exercise can help prevent vision loss later in life and wean your child off eye-damaging digital devices at an early age.
- limit your child’s screen time to no more than one hour per day.
- Monitor your child’s workstation and pay attention to their posture. Rounded backs in babies can lead to vision problems and scoliosis.
- Install a night light in your baby’s room so that you can turn the light on with your baby at bedtime.
- When working with children in preparation for school, learning foreign languages, simple arithmetic and the Russian language, set a class time of 30 minutes per lesson and a 15-minute break. During this time, it is advisable to do something creative or active, such as drawing or walking. Remember that early development can have a negative impact on the child’s health.
How can I tell if my children’s vision is getting worse?
Babies can’t always react realistically to a situation. However, knowing the following signs and changes in your baby’s behavior will help you know when to take your baby to the doctor:
- Starts squinting when reading books, watching TV or studying;
- Rubbing their eyes frequently, even when awake;
- Starts squinting in bright light;
- Complains of headaches and eye strain at the end of the day;
- Eyes are bloodshot and sometimes watery;
- Handwriting becomes bigger than before, outlines of drawings become blurred.
Even if you think your child has no vision problems, an ophthalmologist will recommend a comprehensive eye examination before starting school. If one of the parents has a history of poor vision, more frequent check-ups are recommended. The purpose of the examination is to detect the slightest signs of abnormalities or predisposition to them. Based on the doctor’s recommendations, corrective measures can be chosen for many conditions that are most effectively treated in childhood. These include common conditions such as strabismus, astigmatism, myopia, hyperopia and amblyopia. With guidance, you will also be able to choose the best classroom for your child in the future.