A Specsavers survey of parents in the UK revealed that 35% were worried about their child covering up issues with eyesight.
Giles Edmonds, clinical services director at Specsavers, said: ‘A lot of parents assume that because their child doesn't display any signs of a vision problem, there's no need to have their eyes tested. However, this couldn't be further from the truth.
‘Ensuring your child has regular eye examinations from an early age is incredibly important for several reasons. Given more than 80% of our learning, cognitive and social abilities are facilitated through our sight, it's extremely important to your child's overall development.’
The multiple highlighted common behaviours reported by parents with children aged six to 15 could indicate they were experiencing sight issues.
These included: sitting too close to the TV (48%), frequent complaints of headaches (42%), sitting at the front of the class (37%) and delaying bedtime to avoid reading (28%).
The Specsavers survey found 39% of parents admitted to overlooking these behavioural signs with 40% who said they have never considered that their child might need spectacles.
Twenty-one percent of parents confessed to have never taken their child to an optical practice and 33% prioritised other health appointments, such as GP, dentist and vaccinations.
Of the 32% of parents who said their child currently wears glasses, 39% revealed they missed the signs of potential sight issues. 97% of those surveyed wish they’d spotted the tell-tale signs earlier.