Vision

When an infant first emerges into the world, his/her eyesight is immature. While the infant can see the form of his/her mother and can tell the difference between light and dark, the ability to focus has not been developed. Monitoring your child's ability to see is an important part of the health of your growing child.

Facts about vision problems:

• About 5 to 10 percent of preschoolers have vision problems.
• About 25 percent of school-aged children have vision problems.
• Without proper screening, vision problems may not be noticed.

Risk factors for having problems with vision:

The following are some of the risk factors that may increase your child's chances for having some problems with his/her vision:

• maternal infections while pregnant
• heart disease in the infant
• any problems with the actual structure of the eye that the child is born with
• family history of problems with vision
• hearing problems
• premature infant
• trauma to the eye

There are many eye problems that affect infants, children, and adolescents that require clinical care by a physician or other healthcare professional. Listed in the directory below you will find some, for which we have provided a brief overview.

If you cannot find the information in which you are interested, please visit the Growth and Development Online Resources page in this Web site for an Internet/World Wide Web address that may contain additional information on that topic.