3 Ways To Help Your Child Get Ready For An Eye Exam
If your child doesn't seem to see well, then you should take them to see an optometrist. However, it can be hard for your toddler to go see an eye doctor since they don't really understand what is going on. There are some things that you can do to help your toddler get ready for their appointment so that they aren't scared and are ready to cooperate with the doctor.
Create an Eye Chart
One of the things that your child will have to do when they are at the doctor's office is read an eye chart. Since young children generally don't know their ABCs yet, there are eye charts that a toddler can easily read. They generally have symbols that your child can identify, like boats, arrows, and other similar things. You can make your own by getting a piece of poster board and put images like boat outlines or arrows so that your child understand that's what they are supposed to look at and ID. Practice can make it easier for them to understand what will happen at the doctor's office. Make sure you break the practice session into small chunks, otherwise your toddler is likely to get frustrated.
Make a Narrative
Telling stories is an easy way to get your child ready for anything. You can create something called a social script. The script is basically a narrative of what your child can expect. You can even create flashcards or a flip board so that they have a visual cue as well as your story. You can print out pictures of eye doctors and put on the flashcards as well as some the equipment they may see. Familiarity with the equipment can help to make seeing that equipment in person less scary.
Play Pretend
Let your child pretend to be the eye doctor. After you tell them what's going to happen, they can pretend to examine your eyes and you can pretend to examine their eyes. Once they see that it doesn't hurt, your child will be more likely to let someone else check out their eyes.
It's important to make sure that your child gets their eyes checked regularly, especially if you think that they are having a hard time seeing. The sooner you can find and fix any vision problems, the better off your toddler will be. Seeing clearly help your child develop naturally and not learn bad habits. Visit http://envisionnv.com/ for more information.