Can you even begin to name all of the potential health problems that parents have to monitor in their children? It feels like an endless list. And one of the many important factors to consider: your kid’s eyesight. If detected early enough, some vision issues can be fixed before they ever become a problem. In fact, the many exercises to help lazy eye in babies may help remedy your kid’s vision years before he ever has to read a blackboard.
Having a lazy eye, or amblyopia, means that your child has reduced vision in one eye, and its focus may drift inward or outward, out of alignment with the stronger eye. As the Mayo Clinic says, the development of a lazy eye can occur from birth up until your child is about seven years old, and it is the top cause of decreased vision (in one eye) among children. In addition, you may not be able to just look at your child and be able to tell whether he has a lazy eye, so it’s best to get his vision checked out by a doctor. As WebMD said, all children should have an eye exam by about six months of age just to ensure everything is developing properly. If your child is diagnosed with a lazy eye during one of these visits, here is an overview of the exercises that can remedy that lazy eye in no time.
1
Airplane Spoon
You know how sometimes you make airplane sounds and wave the spoon around to make feeding the baby a little easier? This exercise is also good for your child's vision because it promotes eye tracking and teaming, as The Vision Therapy Center, Inc. said. It's the easiest form of multitasking ever.
2
Patching
Your doctor may recommend using an eye patch over your kid's good eye for a couple of hours each day. As WebMD explains, this forces your kid's brain to work with the weak eye and develop its vision. Also, you get to hang out with a cute little pirate baby for the time being.
3
Eye Drops
This is the same idea as using the eye patch. You can put drops in your child's stronger eye to temporarily cause it to blur, as Your Eye Guide explained. This might be a good option for kids who don't respond well to the patch.
4
Catching Activities
Getting your kid to do activities that require focus while wearing the patch or using eye drops is a good way to help the lazy eye get a workout. Depending on your kid's age, you may work on catching balloons or balls while patched. There is even a lazy eye app for kids to use for eye exercise.
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5. Vision Therapy
For a more personalized plan of attack, your ophthalmologist can arrange vision therapy for your little one. Because your kid's eyes are still in the formative stage, this is a great time to start vision therapy to correct a lazy eye, as The Vision Therapy Center noted. In addition, most of the therapy will feel more like a game to your kid, so he may even look forward to treatment.
