During August, Children’s Eye Health & Safety Awareness Month, PBA Offers Programs for Kids, Parents, and Teachers

Prevent Blindness has declared August as Children’s Eye Health and Safety Awareness month to inspire parents to make their child’s vision health a priority.  Family-friendly resources on a wide variety of topics that help parents take the right steps to keep their child's sight healthy for life can be found at preventblindness.org and through the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness (NCCVEH) website.  Topics covered include amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (crossed eyes), UV-protection and sports safety, and the Affordable Care Act and children’s vision.

Prevent Blindness also offers the following programs to help save children’s sight:

• The NCCVEH is teaming up with Family Voices and its National Center for Family Professional Partnership (NCFPP) for August’s Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month to offer families of children with special health care needs important information on vision issues.  Resources include Vision Health for Children on the Autism Spectrum, Families of Children with Vision Impairment: Working with Medical Professionals, and much more.
• Eye Spy,an eye health and safety education program, is designed for children. Through the program, children learn about eye anatomy, how the eye works, and eye safety. Teachers may also use the program in the classroom.
• Designed specifically for educators, Star Pupils Eye Health and Safety Curriculum for grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-8 provides teachers with interactive materials that help students learn the importance of sight, components of the eye and how we see, and how to identify objects and situations that can be dangerous to eyes.  The program meets National Health, National Science and National Physical Education standards and includes presentation guides, eye exam diagrams, in-class worksheets and an activity book for children to take home. It can be downloaded free upon request,
• The Eye Patch Club is geared to children with amblyopia and their families.  Eye doctors commonly treat amblyopia by having the child wear a patch over the unaffected eye for extended periods of time. This program encourages children to wear their patches as prescribed. Among other materials, members of the club receive their own special calendar and stickers.  The Eye Patch Club kit may be purchased for $12.95 by calling (800) 331-2020. Proceeds will go to support the sight-saving programs of Prevent Blindness.

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