Can Wearing Glasses Make a Toddler's Eyesight Better? by Kristen Berry, Demand Media

Wearing glasses can markedly improve a toddler's vision. According to the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, the first five to six years of a child's life involves major vision growth and development. Not only can glasses improve your toddler's vision, they might play an important role in ensuring normal development of his vision.

Myopia -- Nearsightedness

According to research at Boston Children's Hospital, if your toddler has trouble seeing faces from across a room, or character's faces on a movie theater screen, she might be nearsighted. Nearsightedness is caused by an eyeball that is too long. This irregular shape causes incoming light rays to focus in front of your toddler's retina instead of directly on it. Distant objects appear blurry. If your toddler is nearsighted, prescription glasses will refocus the incoming light and create clearer images.

Hyperopia -- Farsightedness

Your toddler will likely have difficulty in expressing her vision problems orally. Look for signs such as the inability to fixate on or follow objects. According a nonprofit health group, Fairview Health Services in Minneapolis, if objects that are close to your toddler's line of immediate vision cause her to squint, she might be farsighted, also called hyperopia. Hyperopia is the refractive defect in which a shorter eyeball causes the image of an object to be focused behind the retina. Eyeglasses will help to correct or improve your toddler's hyperopia through adjusting the focusing power to the retina. Your toddler will have an easier time seeing close objects more clearly.

Astigmatism

Astigmatism is a common condition in which your toddler might have an abnormal curvature of her cornea. This can cause two focal points to fall in two different locations, whether your toddler is seeing an object up close, or at a distance. This can put a strain on your toddler's eyes and even cause her undue fatigue. According to Boston Children's Hospital, if your toddler has astigmatism, wearing glasses will make her vision sharper and more consistent.

Dependency

You might worry that your toddler's need for vision correction could cause her to become dependent on glasses and worsen her vision. According to the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, the opposite might be true. If your toddler does not consistently wear the glasses prescribed, her normal vision development can be inhibited or even adversely affected. The American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus recommends finding an optician who is experienced in pediatric eyewear. Your toddler's frames should fit comfortably with the eye centered in the middle of the lens.