Changes in your child's vision may occur during the learning years, but he or she may not realize a problem exists because a child assumes everyone sees the way he or she does.

Vision problems can affect your child's ability to learn, since 80 percent of learning activities involve vision. Problems may range from seeing a blurred chalkboard to reading difficulties stemming from poor eye movement, focusing and coordination.

Children who do not learn often become frustrated and can develop a poor self image, lose interest in school and even turn to delinquent behavior.

To give your child good vision for learning, have his or her eyes examined at the beginning of each school year. Conditions such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism often affect school age children. Also, be alert for behavioral signs that may indicate vision performance problems and bring these to your optometrist's attention. Signs that you and you child's teacher may spot include:

Frequent eye rubbing or blinking.
Short attention span or frequent daydreaming.
Poor eye/hand coordination.
Poor reading.
Avoiding close work.
Frequent headaches.
A drop is scholastic or sports performance.
Covering one eye.
Tilting the head.

Though your child may have 20/20 eyesight, that doesn't guarantee perfect vision. It means he or she can see at 20 feet what should normally be seen at that distance. There are other interrelated vision skills that contribute to good vision and affect how well your child performs.