You want your child to have every opportunity to excel in life. And good vision is essential for them to learn, grow and reach their full potential. This is true for people of all ages—kids, adults, teenagers and babies. It is important to understand that individuals with vision problems may not know they have them—they may simply think everyone sees and interprets the world the way they do.

Too often people think of good vision only as whether or not they can see '20/20.' Or, in other words, whether they can identify an object at 20 feet that a person with “normal” visual acuity can identify. The truth is, this is only one component of normal, healthy vision.

Optometric physicians often identify patients who have struggled for years in school, work and recreation when a treatable vision condition was actually the root of the problem. In fact, there are many cases of children put in “resource rooms,” labeled as ADD or held back in school when, in reality, an unidentified vision problem is playing a crucial role in their difficulties.

Vision care should be part of your family’s yearly back-to-school regimen, just like getting a physical, and buying new shoes and notebooks. There are treatments and tools for maximizing your child’s vision to ensure he or she will reach their full potential.