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Back-to-School Vision Checklist for Kids

Back-to-school vision care tips.

As summer winds down and the back-to-school season approaches, parents are busy getting their children ready for another successful academic year. While shopping for school supplies and new clothes may be at the top of your list, don’t forget one crucial thing—your child’s vision. Clear vision plays a vital role in learning, social interaction, and overall development. To ensure your child is set up for success, follow this back-to-school vision checklist.

Schedule a Comprehensive Eye Exam

A comprehensive eye exam is essential to detect any vision problems that may affect your child’s ability to learn. Unlike basic vision screenings performed at school, an optometrist can check for:

  • Nearsightedness (difficulty seeing distant objects)
  • Farsightedness (difficulty seeing close objects)
  • Astigmatism (blurred vision due to irregular eye shape)
  • Eye alignment issues, such as strabismus (crossed eyes)
  • Amblyopia (lazy eye)
  • Colour vision deficiencies

An annual exam helps ensure your child’s vision is optimal and any potential issues are addressed before they become a problem.

Watch for Warning Signs of Vision Issues

Even with regular eye exams, it’s important to monitor your child for any signs of vision problems throughout the school year. Common warning signs include:

  • Squinting or tilting their head to see better
  • Holding books or screens very close to their face
  • Frequent headaches or complaints of eye pain
  • Trouble reading or following along in class
  • Covering one eye or closing it while reading

If you notice any of these behaviours, book an appointment with your optometrist immediately.

Choose the Right Eyewear, if Needed

If your child needs glasses, choosing the right pair can make all the difference in their comfort and confidence. Here’s what to consider:

Durability: Kids are active, so choose sturdy frames that can withstand daily wear and tear.
Fit: Frames should sit comfortably on the nose and ears without slipping or feeling tight.
Lens Coatings: Consider anti-scratch and anti-reflective coatings to extend the life of the lenses and reduce glare.

Encourage your child to be part of the process so they feel excited about their new glasses.

Protect Their Eyes from Screens

With more screen time in both classrooms and at home, digital eye strain has become a growing concern for children. To reduce the effects of digital eye strain:

  • Encourage frequent breaks using the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.
  • Adjust screen brightness to match the room lighting.
  • Ensure the screen is positioned at eye level to reduce neck and eye strain.
  • Consider blue light-filtering glasses for added protection.

Prioritize Outdoor Time

Spending time outdoors has been linked to better eye health and may reduce the risk of developing myopia (nearsightedness). Encourage your child to balance their indoor activities with time outside, playing in natural sunlight.

Ensure UV Protection

UV rays can cause long-term damage to your child’s eyes, even on cloudy days. Make sure your child wears sunglasses that offer 100% UVA and UVB protection whenever they’re outside. For kids who wear prescription glasses, consider getting prescription sunglasses or transition lenses.

Maintain Eye Safety During Sports and Activities

If your child participates in sports or activities, protective eyewear is a must. Sports goggles or shatterproof lenses can help prevent eye injuries, especially in contact sports like soccer, basketball, and hockey.

Ensure Proper Lighting in Study Areas

Create a study space with adequate lighting to prevent eye strain. Desk lamps with adjustable brightness and natural light exposure can help your child’s eyes remain comfortable during homework and study sessions.

Set Your Child Up for Success

Good vision is essential for academic performance, confidence, and overall well-being. A simple eye exam can make a world of difference in your child’s school experience. By following this vision checklist, you can ensure that your child is ready to take on the school year with clarity and confidence.

Book Your Child’s Eye Exam at Invision Eye Clinic Today

At Invision Eye Clinic in Oakville, Ontario, we provide comprehensive eye exams for children and offer a wide range of stylish, durable eyewear to meet their needs. Our experienced team is here to help your child start the school year with clear vision and confidence. Contact us today to schedule your child’s eye exam and give them the gift of healthy eyesight.

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Saturday – 12pm – 4pm

Sunday – Closed

Our Services

Adult Eye Exam

At Invision Eye Clinic we recommend that every adult from the age of 19 to 65 have a comprehensive eye exam every year. As we get older, there is a higher chance to develop ocular conditions such as cataracts,  glaucoma, and macular degeneration. For this reason, an annual eye exam is all the more important for adults over the age of 65. An annual eye exam is also recommended for anyone with a systemic condition like diabetes or multiple sclerosis where there can be a significant impact on vision and ocular health.

Our doctors strive to provide outstanding eye care with visual solutions that are custom designed to meet each patients’ individual needs. Our experienced staff will then work one on one with each patient to find the glasses and lens options that best suits their respective lifestyle.

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Child Eye Exam

At Invision Eye Clinic we recommend children have their first eye exam by the age of 3, and then yearly thereafter. With every child, we strive to support them with their visual development and help them meet the visual demands of the world around them.

During your child’s eye exam, our doctors will assess them for near-sightedness (myopia), far-sightedness (hyperopia), an eye turn (strabismus), lazy eye (amblyopia) and other ocular pathologies. We will also assess your child’s eye movement (tracking) skills, and the coordination of their eyes while they are performing visual tasks.

It is important to remember that your child does not need to be able to read or to identify letters to have an eye examination. Our tests are designed for all ages and provide vital information about your child’s eye health.

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Dry Eye

Dry eyes can show up in various different forms; red eyes, watery eyes, itchy eyes, tired or uncomfortable vision. When the delicate balance of tears on the eye is unbalanced, a cascade of these symptoms can present. Crustiness around the eyes in the morning and chronic styes can also be traced back to a dry eye problem. The impact of our habits and environment cannot be overlooked. Our habits, environment and changes in season can all play a role in severity of our symptoms.

At Invision Eye Clinic, each exam includes an evaluation to not only identify potential dry eye, but to also investigate the possible causes and factors that have contributed to it.

For patients who are suffering from more advanced cases of dry eye, we offer in depth dry eye testing that investigates the root causes of the disease. We can develop a treatment plan that will involve both the management of symptoms and a preventative maintenance protocol.

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Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease affecting how the body uses or produces insulin, a hormone that controls blood glucose (sugar) levels. Those suffering from diabetes are at risk of developing various other health issues, including impacts to their vision and eye health.

At our clinic, we implement the latest OCT technology to monitor and assess the impact of diabetes in the eye so that vision can be kept at optimal levels. Our diabetic eye exams not only include digital retinal imaging to look for diabetic changes, but also an internal sub-surface scan to create a detailed map of the eye. When required, our doctors can also use OCT angiography to map out individual blood vessels in the eye to look for even the earliest signs of damage from diabetes.

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Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a slow progressing disease and can often go unnoticed without regular testing. It involves an increase in eye pressure that can slowly damage the optic nerve inside the eye, causing vision loss. If left undiagnosed and untreated, it can easily lead to blindness.

At our clinic, we screen each and every patient with an OCT scan of their optic nerve to assess the risks of glaucoma. For patients who are at risk or who are diagnosed with glaucoma, comprehensive eye exams and visual field tests are crucial alongside more detailed OCT scans.

Glaucoma can be a confusing and stressful disease for patients. At our clinic, our doctors take the time to perform the necessary tests and discuss all the treatment options with our patients.

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Eye Wear

At Invision Eye Clinic attention to detail is the key feature in dispensing personalized eyewear suited to your visual needs. Prior to dispensing, each order is inspected by our opticians to ensure accuracy & quality.

From Hand Made Boutique Eyewear to big names in the fashion industry, we carry a wide variety of colours and styles to fit every age group and taste. We make sure that our inventory is fresh and current throughout the year.

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Contact Lenses

At Invision Eye Clinic our doctors can help you find the contact lenses that right for your eyes. Whether you have an active lifestyle, don’t like the look or feel of glasses, or just want something part time for social occasions, our optometrists are here to help.

First time contact lens wearer? Worried if contacts are the right solution for you? Rest assured, at Invision Eye Clinic, we take the time to perform an individual trial fit of each contact lens to make sure we have the right lens for each patient. We have a wide selection of contact lens brands and styles, and are confident that we can meet your visual needs.

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Our Technology

At Invision Eye Clinic, we strive to provide the highest level of eye care. To help us achieve this goal, we have invested in state-of-the-art technology. Our integrated electronic medical records enable you to book your appointments online and have your third-party medical insurance submitted electronically at the time of your visit. All our patient records are stored using encrypted security measures and in compliance to the privacy policies within the health industry.

Our OCT retinal imaging camera takes a detailed scan of your retina allowing for early detection of many retinal diseases. Retinal imaging also allows for making close comparisons and watching for trend patterns between scans so that changes in the eyes can be monitored over time. The OCT has enabled eye care professionals to detect and monitor the subtle changes that can occur in diabetic retinopathy, hypertensive retinopathy, macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinal toxicity, and multiple sclerosis.

Visual field testing is done at our clinic through the world of virtual reality. With our portable VR headset, we are able to accurately and quickly perform all types of visual field tests. Alongside this, the wearable technology also allows us to perform screenings, colour vision, and pupillometry measurements right in the headset.

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