For parents with patients 5 years and younger:
Here are 10 tips on how to get your little one’s excited about their Vision Therapy Program.
- Make it sound fun! Get them excited about their “eye games”.
- Have a designated area where it’s quiet, the less the distractions the better!
- Start with something they like and are good at, building up their confidence will make them want to do so much more.
- Always use positive reinforcements, a simple “good job Johnny” goes a long way towards motivating them!
- Make an activity chart for the day and have them add a sticker for every activity they complete, that way they will keep track of how much they got to do. Remember for a 3-year-old, 5 minutes can seem like forever.
- Give them breaks! Even though home activities should only take 15-25 minutes, a snack or “jumping” break could be the answer to keeping your time fun and productive.
- Trust your gut! If it feels like doing the activities all at once is not the thing for your little one, make a different plan. Split them out during the day or the week and find a schedule that works for you.
- Don’t be discouraged, the first few weeks are always hardest! Once you both reach a good rhythm, home activities will go a lot smoother and quicker.
- Give us feedback! If an activity seems impossible to get through, let your vision therapist know! We are always here to help, we will gladly introduce different variations of activities that target the same skill until we find the right one for your family.
- Lastly, always keep in mind that the vision therapy program is like a marathon. It doesn’t matter how fast you run in the beginning, what matters is that you are able to cross that finish line! Keeping your little one motivated throughout the program is essential to their progress and key to a successful experience for both of you!