It is normal for a 3-year-old baby to be active. Should they look at toys and comics? Some bad reading habits have also been learned, such as looking at things with their heads tilted, which can easily cause myopia and is irreversible. Parents need to pay attention to their baby's habits in a timely manner. Some parents may ask, should 3-year-old babies correct their habit of looking at things with their heads tilted?
Does a 3-year-old baby like to tilt their head and look at things? Should I correct it
1. Firstly, people should think of pediatric torticollis, commonly known as crooked neck disease. The most common cause is the hardening and shortening of one side of the neck muscles caused by birth injuries, intrauterine developmental disorders, ischemia, etc., medically known as muscular torticollis. Children with this condition mainly present with lumps in the neck and restricted head and neck movement. If left untreated for a long time, facial asymmetry may occur, affecting the patient's aesthetic appearance.
2. However, some babies have normal head and neck movements and tend to tilt their heads when looking at things. After examination by a surgeon, no abnormalities in the neck are found. Parents are reminded to take their babies to the ophthalmology department, which may be caused by congenital developmental abnormalities, birth injuries, and lack of extraocular muscles, resulting in eye movement disorders in a certain direction and causing diplopia (i.e. two non overlapping shadows when looking at things). Only when the baby adopts a special tilt of their head position can this discomfort in looking at things be alleviated and ghosting eliminated. If this situation is not corrected in a timely manner, it can affect the visual development of one or even both eyes, causing amblyopia, affecting simultaneous vision, fusion, and stereoscopic vision, and affecting career choices in adulthood.
How can I identify what illness my baby is suffering from
1. Children with muscular torticollis often have a history of difficult childbirth, and within a few days after birth, a lump can be palpated on one side of the neck, with local swelling and tenderness. As one gets older, the lump gradually shrinks and becomes hard, presenting as a rigid cord like structure, and the movement of the head and neck is restricted. Cervical deformation may occur in the later stage, and X-ray examination is helpful for diagnosis. Under the guidance of a physician in the early stages, about 76% to 86% of children can receive correction through passive neck pulling activities performed by their parents. Consider surgical treatment if necessary.
2. Ophthalmic torticollis is mainly caused by muscle paralysis of the eye, with the most common being paralysis of the superior oblique muscle. Parents can notice that their children may tilt their heads to one side, look at objects with slanted eyes, tilt their faces to one side, and look up when they lower their heads while watching TV. But when not looking at objects (such as when closing the eyes), neck movement can be normal. Because babies often experience uncooperative examination due to nervousness or excitement in the hospital, which can affect the doctor's judgment, parents need to carefully observe which side their baby's head is usually tilted towards, which side they face, and whether they prefer to look up or down at objects. This is important for diagnosis.
Tilting one's head to look at things is the root cause of myopia and cervical problems. Parents need to take preventive measures in advance, such as not habitually letting their babies sleep or drink on the same side, frequently changing directions, not placing toys on the fixed side of the bed, frequently changing positions. 3-year-old babies still cannot control their habits and need patient guidance from parents.
