Notebooks, writing utensils and laptops are standard items on parents’ shopping lists for the start of school. But one important appointment that can easily be overlooked in the stress of starting school is the child’s eye examination.
The Illinois Department of Public Health requires annual vision screenings for preschool children beginning at age three in all public and private educational programs and licensed child care facilities.
Ophthalmologist Dr. Jennifer Wademan said a child’s poor vision can lead to poor performance in school.
“Eighty percent of learning is visual,” she said. “When school starts back and kids are back in the classroom, they get anxious because if our kids aren’t seeing clearly in the classroom or their eyes aren’t working well together, we worry about the impact on their academic performance.”
While schools offer on-site testing, Wademan recommends a more comprehensive exam at a doctor’s office to check how well children see, their overall eye health, and how their eyes work and work together.
Wademan said squinting is often a sign of vision problems. Other signs include when a child is overly tired or has frequent headaches. She noted that these are all symptoms that parents often miss or don’t associate with vision problems.
“Other signs may be that your child is avoiding certain activities, such as reading. Perhaps they are rubbing their eyes excessively,” she said. “Watch your child. Is he tilting his head or turning it in a way to see something?”
She added that the good news is that most vision problems are treatable. Although children still get extra screen time after school to use their favorite apps, adults should also protect their eyes from dryness, irritation and redness. Wademan recommends the 20/20 rule: For every 20 minutes of screen time, take 20 seconds and look at least 20 feet away.
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Notebooks, writing utensils and laptops are standard items on parents’ shopping lists for the start of school. But one important appointment that can easily be overlooked in the stress of starting school is the child’s eye examination.
It’s estimated that one in four school-age children struggle with reading and learning due to undiagnosed vision problems. Some schools offer on-site testing, but ophthalmologist Dr. Jennifer Wademan says a comprehensive exam in the doctor’s office can provide insight into overall eye health and how the eyes work and “work together.”
Wademan said a child’s poor vision can lead to poor performance in school.
“Eighty percent of learning is visual,” she said. “When school starts back and kids are back in the classroom, we worry about the impact on their academic performance if our kids aren’t seeing clearly in the classroom or their eyes aren’t working well together.”
According to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, amblyopia, or “lazy eye,” is the most common cause of vision loss in children. If left untreated, the condition can last into adulthood.
Wademan said squinting is often a sign of vision problems. Other signs include when a child is overly tired or has frequent headaches. She noted that these are all symptoms that parents often miss or don’t associate with vision problems.
“Other signs may be that your child is avoiding certain activities, such as reading. Perhaps they are rubbing their eyes excessively,” she said. “Watch your child. Is he tilting his head or turning it in a way to see something?”
She added that the good news is that most vision problems are treatable. Although children still spend extra time in front of screens after school using their favorite apps, adults should also protect their eyes from dryness, irritation and redness. Wademan recommends the 20/20 rule: For every 20 minutes of screen time, take 20 seconds and look at least 20 feet away.
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Thousands of students in Alabama will receive free breakfast and lunch when they return to school.
Six school districts will be the first to opt into the federal Community Eligibility Program, which provides free school meals to every student. Previously, at least 25% of students had to be eligible for free school meals, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture has relaxed the participation threshold to 40%, allowing more schools to qualify.
LaTrell Clifford Wood, a hunger policy activist with Alabama Arise, said it will address the needs of all students so they can succeed in school.
“In our rural communities, but also in more urban counties,” she said, “child food insecurity can occur to varying degrees.”
In Alabama, there is about $44 million in school meal debt, according to the Education Data Initiative.
Last school year, 118 of Alabama’s 150 school districts and charter schools participated in the CEP program, but in 2022-23, only 51 districts participated, according to state data. Despite this increase, Clifford Wood said the focus remains on ensuring all students have access to meals. However, not all schools in Alabama can provide universal meals.
She said finances are a factor in expanding the program.
“The federal reimbursement for this program leaves many districts and counties in the red when it comes to school meal debt,” she said. “So the amount of reimbursement to schools or districts does not keep up with inflation.”
In the future, Wood said she hopes the state will step in and support universal school meals. She said the importance of universal school meals goes far beyond fighting hunger and promoting the overall health of students.
“A universal school breakfast has the primary effect of tackling chronic absenteeism and improving the mental health of young people,” she said. “But it also improves long-term learning outcomes and eases the school-to-prison pathway.”
Children in households receiving benefits such as SNAP and Medicaid, as well as children in foster care and homeless children, are also eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
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Many people are familiar with the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Book, which looks at child well-being in every state. In Missouri, the research is being used to examine problems at an even more local level.
Kids Count’s data covers economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. The national comparisons may be helpful, but Missouri Kids Count’s data provide a more detailed and meaningful picture of children’s development.
Tracy Greever-Rice, director of Missouri Kids Count, said they look at issues like poverty, food security, low birth weight infants and preventable hospitalizations. She explains that numbers like pediatric asthma emergency room visits reflect larger systemic problems.
“If the number of emergency department visits for asthma is increasing, that’s an indication that preventive measures – access to health care, management of asthma – may not be happening as well as we would like,” Greever-Rice explained. “If we can keep kids out of the emergency department for a chronic illness, they’re probably doing well with other health issues as well.”
She pointed out that this approach not only contributes to immediate improvements in health care but also provides policy guidelines so that the government can address the problems more effectively.
Education is another critical area that presents unique measurement challenges. Greever-Rice pointed out that policy decisions about content, resource allocation and other factors vary widely, making comparative analysis difficult.
“Education in the United States, and especially in the state of Missouri, occurs at a very local level,” noted Greever-Rice.
The Kids Count Data Book’s rankings of states are getting a lot of attention, but Greever-Rice said they should be viewed with caution because they reflect not only Missouri’s performance but that of other states as well. She added that a drop in Missouri’s rankings could indicate improvements elsewhere rather than a direct decline in Missouri itself.
Disclosure: Missouri Kids Count donates to our fund for coverage of children’s issues, hunger/food/nutrition, poverty and youth issues. If you would like to support us in reporting news in the public interest, click here.
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