Validating fields should be done when the form (I assume the textfield is in one) is about to be submitted. ie
$(document).on("submit", "#formID", function(e) {
if (!validationPassed ) {
e.preventDefault();
}
})
This is more efficient than validating each field.
To save you time though, you could use
jquery-validation which you have installed. you could just use
$("#formID").validate()
see
JQuery-validation documentation[
^]