Prevent Blindness declared August Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month with the goal of educating parents, caregivers, professionals and policy makers on the important role vision and eye health plays in a child’s development, learning ability, and social engagement. 

Prevent Blindness is providing a variety of free educational materials on children’s vision issues. The resources include fact sheets, toolkits, videos and social media graphics that cover topics such as myopia and amblyopia. They also offer guidance on preparing children for school, eye doctor visits and the use of corrective lenses.

Prevent Blindness has recently launched the “Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) Education and Support Program” during the inaugural ROP Awareness Week. ROP is a condition linked to premature birth that can lead to vision impairment. The program offers resources in English and Spanish, including fact sheets, social media graphics, a dedicated webpage, and a new video series.

A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlights an alarming increase in diabetes among young people, which can impact eye health. In response, Prevent Blindness has released the “Diabetes + The Eyes: Vision Health in Youth” resource.

Prevent Blindness also encourages the support of the newly introduced Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children (EDVI) Act, which seeks to establish a federal program for children’s vision care. Supported by Prevent Blindness and more than 80 organizations, this bipartisan legislation aims to provide grants to improve children’s vision and eye health across the United States.