The typical New Year’s resolution goes something like this “I hereby resolve to lose “X” number of pounds by the end of the year”. The resolution is then promptly set aside as everyone adjourns to the kitchen for dessert. This year, choose something that is easy and that could have a profound impact on your quality of life: Resolve to see an optometrist for a comprehensive vision exam!

The leaves are changing colors, the weather is getting cooler and stores are starting to fill their aisles with presents – the holidays are coming! If you have a young child in the house, this could lead to an important consideration, which toys are eye-safe and age appropriate?

In general, you’ll want to avoid toys with sharp pointed corners or rough edges. For all ages, blocks are a great gift – as long as the edges are blunted to reduce the risk of an eye injury.

From peek-a-boo to memory games your child’s eyes are always part of the action. There are many games and toys which will help improve your child’s vision skills and they don’t have to take the fun out of playtime.

From the moment your child was born, they began to process the blurry world of light and dark shapes to the school-age child’s ability complex vision tasks. Playtime with games and toys will help stimulate your child’s vision development.

Children who suffer from uncorrected vision or other eye health problems face many challenging barriers in life, not only academically but also socially and athletically. Taking the time to get your children’s eyes examined by a knowledgeable Optometrist will help break down these hurdles and enable your children to reach their highest potential.

School is now in session for most students across the country; for most, the back-to-school to-do list included shopping for school clothes and supplies, getting immunizations and the various and sundry other “must haves” that officially make a student “ready” for school.

Responding to a calls from the Obama Administration to take steps to ensure that no child is left behind in the classroom due to undetected vision disorders, leading doctors, nurses, teachers and other key leaders gathered for the first-ever School Readiness Summit: Focus on Vision.

Prompted by studies showing that much of what children learn comes through vision, the nearly 50 education and health care leaders that participated in the summit’s interdisciplinary workshop documented and recognized the proven link between healthy vision and effective education.

Have you taken your child to one of the myriad 3D movies that have come out in the last year or two? How did they react to it? Some parents have found that their children come away from 3D films with headaches or a nauseous feeling. If this is the case with your child, he or she may be suffering from a minor vision misalignment or may have weaker vision in one eye.

Unfortunately, the effects of vision impairments, however slight, aren’t confined to the movie theater. Increasingly, schools are implementing high-tech learning programs that rely on 3D imagery to provide students with virtual tours of everything from museums to the human heart, all without leaving the classroom.