Is Your Child’s Nearsightedness Getting Worse? When to Consider Myopia Control

If your child’s glasses prescription seems to get stronger year after year, their nearsightedness may be progressing. Myopia often develops during childhood and can worsen as the eyes continue to grow, making distant objects increasingly difficult to see clearly. At San Pedro Optometry, we offer myopia control options designed to help slow this progression and support your child’s vision and long-term eye health.

How Do You Know if Myopia Is Getting Worse?

Children may not always realize that their vision has changed. Instead, parents may notice new habits or difficulties during school, homework, sports, or everyday activities.

Signs that your child’s nearsightedness may be progressing include:

•          Squinting to see distant objects

•          Sitting closer to the television or moving closer to screens

•          Difficulty seeing the board at school

•          Needing stronger glasses prescriptions over time

•          Complaining that distant objects appear blurry

•          Struggling with sports or activities that require clear distance vision

Regular pediatric eye exams are important because changes in myopia can sometimes occur before a child notices a major difference in vision.

The Importance of Slowing Myopia Progression

Myopia often develops during childhood and can continue progressing as the eyes grow. A child who develops nearsightedness at a younger age may have more years during which the prescription can increase.

Myopia control focuses on more than correcting blurry vision. The goal is to help reduce how quickly nearsightedness progresses. Higher levels of myopia can also be associated with greater risks for certain eye health problems later in life, making early monitoring and management especially important.

When Should Parents Consider Myopia Control?

It may be time to discuss myopia management when your child has been diagnosed with nearsightedness and their prescription continues to increase. Family history, age at diagnosis, and the rate at which the prescription changes can also help us determine whether treatment may be appropriate.

An eye exam allows us to evaluate your child’s vision and eye health while tracking changes over time. From there, we can recommend a myopia control approach tailored to their needs.

Myopia Control Options for Children

At San Pedro Optometry, our myopia management options include MiSight 1 day soft contact lenses, overnight Ortho-K lenses, low-dose atropine eye drops, soft multifocal contact lenses, and Essilor Stellest eyeglass lenses. These treatments use different approaches to help slow the progression of nearsightedness, allowing us to select an option based on your child’s age, prescription, lifestyle, and individual needs.

If your child’s distance vision seems to be getting worse or their prescription keeps changing, schedule a myopia control evaluation with San Pedro Optometry to learn which option may be right for their growing eyes. Visit our office in San Pedro, CA, or call (310) 833-2495 to book an appointment.