Children's Vision And Eye Health

Vision plays an important role in children’s physical, cognitive, and social development. More than one in five preschool-age children enrolled in Head Start have a vision disorder. Uncorrected vision problems can impair child development, interfere with learning, and even lead to permanent vision loss; early detection and treatment are critical. Visual functioning is a strong predictor of academic performance in school-age children, and vision disorders of childhood may continue to affect health and well-being throughout the adult years.

The economic costs of children’s vision disorders are significant, amounting to $10 billion yearly in the United States. 

Both genetic and environmental factors play a role in the development of vision disorders.

Because young children and their parents may not be aware of reduced visual functioning, routine vision screening and/or eye examinations are vitally important to detect problems before the child’s development is compromised. Any possible problem identified by vision screening must be followed up with a comprehensive eye examination. Together, vision screening and eye examinations are complementary and essential elements of a strong public health approach to vision and eye health.

Vision screening, eye examinations, population-based data systems, and measures of accountability are the cornerstones of a comprehensive system to ensure children’s vision and eye health.