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Visique Hands Out Free Sunnies to 5 Year Olds

19 January 2012

Visique Hands Out Free Sunnies to 5 Year Olds

Visique’s Back to School campaign is back and this year it is bigger and better for new entrants starting in the 2012 School Year.

As part of their ongoing campaign to encourage New Zealanders to look after their eyes, Visique is offering 5 year old new-entrants in 660 schools across New Zealand, the opportunity to receive free sunglasses for the eighth year in a row.

“Children's eyes can be more susceptible to the sun as generally their pupils are larger and their lenses clearer, allowing more UV light through. It is imperative they learn from an early age to protect their eyes by wearing sunglasses because UV damage accumulates throughout your lifetime”, says Visique optometrist, Melissa Hay.

The Back to School campaign is not just about free sunglasses. It will aim to educate up to 175,000 students, 350,000 parents and more than 6600 teachers about the importance of children’s vision care and the impact it can have on the academic process.

Studies confirm that 1 in 5 kiwi children are struggling with vision issues which can ultimately hinder their learning process in classrooms.

“Research shows that 80% of a child’s learning is done visually”, says Hay. “Young children cannot always tell you if they find it difficult to see well as they may be unaware that what they see is any different from anyone else. Some eye conditions are not obvious to the casual observer so a full eye health check is the way to be certain that your child can see clearly.”

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“Not seeing comfortably can lead to a child severely struggling at school as their eyes are constantly tired and sore causing them to avoid concentrating.” says Visique optometrist, Peter O’Hagan.

“We want to help decrease the number of children affected by poor eyesight so they are able to perform at their full potential.”

And don’t worry; the older group isn’t being left out. As part of the Back to School campaign Visique will also be offering excellent quality sunglasses for only $9.95 to kids up to Year 8, available until 30 April, 2012.

Visique is an established New Zealand network of independent qualified optometrists. 100% kiwi owned, Visique has been at the heart of New Zealand communities since 2000.

For more information about the Back to School campaign visit www.visique.co.nz

ENDS

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