An undetected vision problem can affect a child in many ways, one of them being his or her ability to learn. So now that your child is back at school, it is important that you are aware of the tell-tale signs that your child may have a vision problem.

If your child exhibits any of these signs, schedule an eye appointment for a full exam.

8 Signs Your Child May Need Vision Correction:

1. Sitting too close to the TV screen: A very obvious warning sign is your child sitting too close to the TV screen. This may mean he or she suffers from nearsightedness, a condition known as Myopia, which causes objects to appear fuzzy. The normal treatment is either prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses.
2. Frequent Headaches: Children who have poor eyesight and who do not have a visual aid such as glasses or contact lenses rely on their eyes working overtime to try and focus on objects. This can often lead to the muscles in the back of the eyes tensing up, resulting in headaches over the eyes.
3. Squinting: One of the more common signs that your child suffers from poor vision, squinting reduces the size of a blurred image on the back of the retina, which momentarily improves vision.
4. Tilting the head: If your child tilts his or her head when viewing objects, it could be a sign that your child suffers from strabismus, also known as cross-eyed. Children with strabismus experience double vision, so they tilt their heads to minimize this.
5. Losing place when reading: If you find your child skips lines when reading to you, it may very well mean he or she has a vision problem. An astigmatism is often to blame for this, but your eye doctor will pinpoint the problem right away.
6. Closing or covering one eye to read or watch TV: A child closes or covers one eye to prevent it from interfering with his or her vision. Covering one eye can be a sign of many eye problems, some of them serious, so it is important that you take your child to see an eye doctor if he or she exhibits this symptom.
7. Rubbing eyes: Children who rub their eyes may suffer from eye fatigue, which can be the result of many types of vision problems.
8. Finger pointing when reading: More often than not, finger pointing when reading is seen in children who are learning to read. However, it can also be the result of an undetected vision problem, such as amblyopia, commonly known as lazy eye. Lazy eye can cause letters or words to appear overly crowded, making them difficult to recognize. Children can become dependent on finger pointing when reading to help them focus on single letters and words at a time.