Optometrists say children struggling in school could be due to poor vision

Optometrist David Goldsbury says children often won't complain when they are having vision problems. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui optometrists say shortsightedness in children is increasing.

Specsavers Whanganui optometrist Ian Russell said he had observed a “massive increase” in the number of children with visual problems.

“Firstly, genetics influence it, but a lot of kids are needing glasses at an earlier age, and if they develop myopia, the earlier that develops the stronger the prescription ends up being.”

He said there was a clear correlation between spending a lot of time inside and away from natural daylight and short-sightedness.

Countries such as Singapore or China, where people often live in apartment environments, are experiencing dramatic rises in the number of people with myopia.

“For growing eyes, so kids’ eyes, it’s extremely important to be outside in the daylight.”

There are several things to look out for that suggest a child might need an eyes test, Goldsbury Visique optometrist David Goldsbury says.

Headaches, rubbing their eyes and closing one eye more than another are often signals. So is avoiding near-focusing schoolwork or a child not participating as well as they should be in the classroom.

“Children don’t complain about it, they just think they can’t see something because it’s too far away or too small.

“I saw a boy who thought birds could stand in the air because he’d never seen a power line.”

Myopia — short-sightedness — is on the rise.

As myopia increases so too does the risk of eye disease later in life, such as cataract disease, macular degeneration or retinal detachment.

In the last five to 10 years, new treatments have emerged to manage myopia and ensure prescriptions are kept lower, Goldsbury said.

“We don’t know everything yet, but we know how to slow it down.”

Wanganui Eyecare optometrist John Boyle specialises in eye care for children with learning difficulties, and said a small percentage of children would have learning disabilities and vision problems.

“The key thing is if your child is having any trouble at all with learning, part of what you should be looking at is a visual examination.”

Goldsbury said there was a lot that could be picked up on in a thorough eye test.

He recently saw a 7-year-old who had gaps in her visual field, that meant it was likely either a tumour or head injury was happening in the temporal lobe of her brain.

Russell said spending a long time looking at devices could lead to eyestrain, but it wouldn’t necessarily make a person develop myopia.

“We don’t tend to blink very much when we’re concentrating on screens, and that makes the ocular surface dry out.”

Boyle said screens were stressful on the visual system and people should take regular breaks from them.

“Kids when they’re really young should be outdoors playing and looking at things, if they’re sitting in front of a screen all the time that visual development doesn’t happen as easily.”

Optometrists recommend the 20/20 rule — after 20 minutes of screen time focus on something 20 metres away for at least 20 seconds.

Glasses are subsidised for children 15 and under whose parents are community service card holders or if the child has a current high use health card.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.