A Child's Sight

Eye Problems Experienced by Children

The Numbers Tell the Story

Girl reading a book

Eye injuries are the leading cause of blindness in children and most eye injuries, more than 40,000, are sports-related. Ninety percent of the sports-related eye injuries may be prevented with protective eyewear.
Approximately 56,000 Ohio students are enrolled in career-technical education which is in a vocational study field that poses an increased risk of eye injury.
Eighty percent of how a child learns is visual.
Up to fifteen percent of preschool children have an eye or vision condition that, if not corrected, can result in reduced vision.
Twenty-five percent of school-age children have a vision problem.
Up to five percent of children have amblyopia (lazy eye).

The Save Our Sight Program Can Make a Difference

The purpose of the Save Our Sight Fund is to ensure children in Ohio have good vision and healthy eyes. By training individuals to identify children with potential vision problems and by providing educational programs to promote eye health and safety, we can begin to better protect the children in our communities and improve their quality of life and ability to learn.

Common Eye Problems

Amblyopia or lazy eye — reduced vision in one eye due to non-use. Amblyopia is caused most frequently from a misalignment of a child’s eyes (such as crossed eyes). A difference in image quality (one eye focuses better than the other) can also lead to amblyopia. In either case, one eye becomes stronger and takes over the job of seeing while the other eye goes unused.

Astigmatism — prevents all parts of an image from being focused by the eye at one time. In this case, no matter how the eye is focused, some part of the image will be blurred and often distorted.

Color deficiency — inability to perceive differences in color, usually for red or green, less frequently for blue or yellow. Condition exists in varying degrees from minor loss to complete color blindness.

Hyperopia or farsightedness — a refractive error in which the eyeball is too short, or the refractive power is too weak. Generally, near objects appear blurry, while distant objects appear clear.

Myopia or nearsightedness — a refractive error in which the eyeball is too long or the refractive power is too strong. Generally, distant objects appear blurry, while near objects appear clear.

Signs That Your Child May Have a Vision Problem