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Gift Ideas that Support Vision and Educational Development MICHAEL COLE, OD Child and Family Eye Care Center
WITH THE ARRIVAL of the holiday season, our thoughts turn to our families and loved ones. We hope everyone stays safe this year as we plan our get-togethers, prepare family meals, and shop for gifts. Speaking of gifts, we hope that you will join us in supporting our local retail stores. Some of our family’s favorites for gift shopping are The Book Table, Red Balloon Toy Store, Stork Landing, and Little Sprouts.
use is increasingly being utilized for school instruction as well. However, passive activities like TV and screen time do little to stimulate and improve the visual system and the other senses. How and what children play greatly influences their ability to learn and meet visual developmental milestones. Here are some things to consider when choosing the perfect gift for a child:
Let us also be mindful of the types of gifts we purchase for the youngest children among our families and friends. While our youth would certainly love a new video game, app, or tablet, let’s instead consider gifts that would aid in their vision (and overall) development. Technology is ever present in our children’s lives, not only for play, but screen
For little ones under one year old who are learning to see more clearly, starting to change focal distances, and experimenting using two eyes together, proper visual stimuli are essential. Most parents are aware of the need to provide toys with vibrant colors, patterns, and high contrast. Just as important as these attributes, toys for little ones need to
incorporate motion. Think bath toys you can float toward or away from your child, wind-up toys to chase, or mobiles close enough to hit, kick, or otherwise interact with. Between ages 12 and 18 months, we expect that children will be using their vision to explore and interact with (destroy) their environment. Perfect gifts for this age could include objects that have identifiable characteristics such as shape or color, objects they can learn to manipulate, or obstacles to climb on. Some ideas are stackable or nesting toys, xylophones, and pillows of different shapes and sizes to climb on. Have you seen the nugget play couch? What a perfect gift for this age. Our family can’t wait to get our hands on one! continued on next page…
OUTNUMBER CANCER Sarunas Sliesoraitis, DO Hematology/Oncology
Richard Johnson, DO Hematology/Oncology
Gary Whipple, MD Radiation Oncology
Jaden Evans, MD Radiation Oncology
Ryan Garfield, PA Hematology/Oncology
Todd Hamblin, NP Hematology/Oncology
Derrick Haslem, MD Associate Medical Director Hematology/Oncology Supporting Provider
At Intermountain Logan Regional Hospital’s Gossner Cancer Center, our expert team provides radiation therapy, infusion therapy, medical oncology, and a pharmacy. We also offer a wide variety of services with experts throughout the Intermountain Healthcare system through TeleHealth. Find a team of experts close to home at:
Intermountain Cancer Center – Logan: 435.716.6400 Intermountain 24/7 Cancer Hotline: 833.321.3332
