ALEXANDRIA, Va.—As parents and children get ready for the back-to-school season, Think About Your Eyes is gearing up its Q3 advertising campaign and educating the public on the importance of regular comprehensive eye exams for the 38 million school-aged children in the U.S. The national campaign, ‘The eyes you’re born with’, began on July 20 and can be viewed online at thinkaboutyoureyes.com/videos.

According to separate research studies from Think About Your Eyes and the American Optometric Association: 89 percent of parents incorrectly believe that vision screenings, as offered in schools and at pediatricians’ offices, are an effective way to detect vision problems in infants and children. The studies also revealed that 34 percent of parents have never taken their child to an eye doctor and of parents of children under age six, 49 percent have never taken their child to an eye doctor.

“The vision community, through Think About Your Eyes, is dedicated to educating parents on the difference between school vision screenings and a comprehensive eye exam, and ensuring that they know the importance and life-long value of regularly scheduled comprehensive eye exams for their kids,” said Dave Plogmann, managing director of Think About Your Eyes. “We have a responsibility for the eye and vision health of our nation’s children, because healthy eyes—as well as good vision—are as essential as schools to a child’s ability to learn.”

The 2015 Think About Your Eyes campaign has been even bigger and is reaching even more consumers than ever before, according to an announcement from TAYE. Nearly 1.3 billion consumer advertising impressions will be generated this year, and the message has been seen or heard by over 132 million adults.

Since the campaign’s inception, eye exams have grown by 5.2 percent, resulting in over 9.1 million additional eye exams in the U.S., and more than 1.7 million people have visited the campaign website where they can find local Think About Your Eyes eyecare providers. Additionally, according to VisionWatch, eye exams grew by 4.1 percent during Q1 of 2015— which is the single largest quarterly increase seen in the last several years. This important campaign is truly changing consumer attitudes about eye exams and is driving growth for the eyecare industry, according to Think About Your Eyes. To find a local eyecare provider, parents can visit www.thinkaboutyoureyes.com and utilize the practice locator.

Current partners include Alcon, The Vision Council, American Optometric Association, All About Vision, Gunnar Optiks, National Vision, Inc. (NVI), SpecialEyes, SPY, Hilco, Walman Optical, Transitions, Shamir, Chemistrie Eyewear, Essilor, Transitions, Luxottica Group, Eschenbach, Visionworks and WestGroupe.