ST. CLOUD -- It's almost back-to-school time and you are prepared with your child's enrollment forms, school supplies, schedule, and immunizations--but what about their eyes?

August is Children's Eye Health and Safety Month, and what better reminder to get your child's eyes checked before school starts.

Dr. Shannon Cabrera  is a fellowship-trained Pediatric Ophthalmologist at Eye Surgeons & Physicians. She says routine vision screening is very important to the overall health of your child.

"In the perfect world, we would love to see all kids sometime in the first year, to rule out any congenital problems. Again in the mid toddler years, age two and a half to three is a great time looking for any developmental issues with the eyes. Then usually a preschool exam somewhere around the age of four to five says, Cabrera"

The average eye exam screening for kids is at the age of three years olds. This is the most common age where doctors diagnose Strabismus (cross-eyed) and Amblyopia (Lazy eye).

Rebecca David, WJON
Rebecca David, WJON
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As school and sports start again for your children, Dr. Cabrera encourages routinely having your child wash their hands, to avoid getting bacterial conjunctivitis in their eyes.

Proper eyewear and headwear are encouraged as well, to avoid any injuries to the eye or head.

Finally, for you parents wondering how to get your kids away from staring at the screen all day. Dr. Cabrera encourages the 20/20 rule.

"About every 20 minutes, we should try to work in a 20-second break especially when we are doing a near focused activity. Take a break, blink,and look away"

For more information about your child's vision or to set up an appointment. Visit Eye Surgeons & Physicians

Rebecca David, WJON
Rebecca David, WJON
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