I asked a three year old, “Can your eyes see this?” She looked at the picture I was showing her and she said, “My eyes can see what I like to look at.”
This week we had vision screening at my preschool. One by one, preschoolers had their eyes checked to make sure they were healthy. They looked at letters and matched them, and they looked in a machine to see pictures of rabbits and birds. The American Public Health Association estimates that 10% of all preschoolers have a vision problem.
Typical things a parent will see if their child has a problem are:
- Sitting close to the TV or holding a book too close
- Tilting their head
- Frequently rubbing their eyes
- Short attention span for the child’s age
- Turning of an eye in or out
- Sensitivity to light
- Difficulty with eye-hand-body coordination when playing ball or bike riding
- Avoiding coloring activities, puzzles and other detailed activities
If a parent notices these things they should contact a doctor of optometry.
The three year old I talked to last week was not in my preschool getting a vision screening. She has had more eye screenings and tests than most people reading this. Ania Elaine or “Dainty Warrior” as her fans and friends know her has Retinoblastoma, a rare form of cancer that is diagnosed in predominantly children under the age of three. Ania’s parents are in the process of determining the options for their daughter’s eye that is not responding to the treatment the way the doctor wants.
Ania, on the other hand, is responding to her lack of vision with an increased vision and enjoyment for producing artwork. She paints for pleasure and has an an online store that sells original and reprints of her artwork. She is taking her vision to a bigger place, a place where others can enter into her world. She is not letting her vision define her or stop her. She is boldly enjoying her life and choosing to see things she likes to look at.
- What is something you enjoy looking at?
- If you close your eyes, can you still envision beauty?
- What would be different in your life if you would first look at things from your inside instead of first using your eyes?
- What vision do you have that is bigger than your eyes can see?
“The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but has no vision.” Helen Keller
P.S. The links in blue will let you into Ania’s world through her mother’s blog and her online store. You will be able to see a vision that is not inhibited by using only one eye. You will see honesty from a mother and father struggling to make sense of cancer. You will see beauty that can come from it. Preschoolers exude beauty, and Ania is no different.
The power of a preschooler will change your life…. if you let it.