Children are not always able to describe what is wrong with their vision. Unlike adults who know what comfortable vision feels like and can notice when it changes, children often have no reference point. If they have always had slightly blurry close vision, it is simply the world as they know it. So they do not say their eyes hurt or that things look blurry. They say they have a headache, or they avoid reading, or they start falling behind at school.
Why eye strain headaches are common in children
Children spend a significant part of their day doing exactly the kind of sustained near-work that puts the eye muscles under the most strain: reading, writing, using tablets, and looking at whiteboards. When there is an uncorrected vision problem, that daily visual load is much heavier than it needs to be.
Long-sightedness (hyperopia) is the most common cause of eye strain headaches in children, and the most frequently missed. A long-sighted child has to use their focusing muscles to compensate for the eye's natural tendency to focus behind the retina. Young children have very flexible focusing systems and can often compensate completely, which means they pass a basic vision check with no problem. But maintaining that compensation through a full school day is exhausting, and the result is headaches, reluctance to read, and difficulty concentrating.
Signs your child may be struggling with vision
- Headaches that occur during or after school, particularly after reading or desk work
- Complaining that words blur or move when reading
- Losing their place frequently while reading, or needing to use a finger to track
- Avoiding reading or close activities that other children engage with willingly
- Squinting at the whiteboard or sitting close to the television
- Rubbing their eyes frequently
- Covering one eye, or tilting their head at an angle to see
- Falling behind in reading or writing relative to their peers
What school vision screenings miss
School vision screenings check whether a child can read a letter chart at a set distance. This identifies significant short-sightedness (myopia), but it misses long-sightedness almost entirely, because a long-sighted child can simply accommodate to pass the chart. It also misses astigmatism, convergence problems, amblyopia (lazy eye), and colour vision deficiencies.
A child who passes a school vision screening may still have a vision problem that is affecting their learning and causing daily headaches. A comprehensive clinical eye test is the only way to rule this out properly.
When to bring your child for an eye test
The Australian guidelines recommend a first eye test at age three to four, before starting school. Children should then be tested every one to two years through primary school, and annually during the teenage years when myopia tends to progress quickly. If you are noticing any of the signs above, do not wait for the next routine check. Book sooner.
Children's eye tests are bulk billed under Medicare at Prime Optometrists Auburn. We are experienced at testing children of all ages and making the process comfortable and straightforward. We see families from Auburn, Berala, Lidcombe, Regents Park, Granville, Merrylands, Parramatta, Guildford, Yagoona, Bankstown, Strathfield, and across Western Sydney. Book online or call (02) 9761 0005.