Pediatric Eye Examination
An eye exam is important to your child’s health. Approximately 80% of learning is visual. Approximately 1 in 5 children have a visual performance problem. The problem is that most young children will never complain about a problem with their vision, even when asked. They simply do not know how well they should be seeing, so they will not know if they have a problem.
“At what age should my child have their first eye exam?”
In most cases, Pediatric Optometrists recommend having the first eye exam before age 1. This exam is needed to rule out a misalignment or crossing of an infant’s eyes (strabismus), lazy eye (amblyopia), and rare disorders such as cataracts, glaucoma, or even cancer.
“How can my child be examined if (s)he cannot read?
Small children are not required to read when having a complete eye exam. With today’s instruments, a Pediatric Optometrist can find problems before a child can read or even before the child can speak.
“What is Lazy Eye?”
Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) is when vision in one or both eyes does not develop properly during childhood. It is important to diagnose and treat amblyopia as early as possible. Otherwise, a child with amblyopia may develop permanent vision loss. Causes of amblyopia include crossed eyes, unequal or high prescriptions, congenital cataracts and droopy eyelids.
Babies and Infants
If the parent feels that there is something wrong with their baby’s eyes, then the infant should be brought in for an eye exam. Infants should have a visit to an eye doctor if there is:
- Poor focus on objects after 3 months of age.
- An eye that is turned in or out.
- A pupil that looks white
- A watery eye with overflow tearing.
- An eyelid that is droopy.
- A family history of serious eye problems
Preschool Children
Vision problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism can occur as early as preschool. At this age, most children don’t have the communication skills to describe blurry vision. Preschool children do not understand what “normal” vision is, so they might not even be aware that they are experiencing a problem. A child may have a vision problem but it may manifest in other ways:
- Complaints of headaches or dizziness.
- Excessive blinking.
- Excessive rubbing of the eyes.
- Tilting or turning of the head while watching TV.
- Closing or covering one eye.
- Clumsiness.
- Squinting.
- Complaints of burning or itching eyes.
School aged children
At school age, between 4 to 6 years old, it is critical to start having annual eye exams. Successful early learning in reading, writing, and math requires not only clear vision, but also good eye muscle coordination and stamina. Reading problems may manifest as:
- Avoiding or disliking reading.
- Losing place when reading.
- Covering one eye or tilting head when reading.
- Rereading the same line.
- Feeling sleepy with reading during the day.
- Complaining of tired eyes when reading.
- Intermittent blurring of print.
- Blurred distance vision for a while after reading.
- Print moving, jumping, pulsating, or floating.
- Frequent loss of place.
- Skipping letters, words, or lines.
- Becoming distracted, restless, or inattentive when reading.
- Holding reading material close to the face.
- Performing below normal range.
Other signs to watch for:
- Irritable, restless, always tired.
- Short attention span or frequent daydreaming.
- Holds pencil in an unusual or tight-fisted grip.
- Poor or hard to read handwriting.
An eye exam is important to your child’s health. Approximately 80% of learning is visual. Approximately 1 in 5 children have a visual performance problem. The problem is that most young children will never complain about a problem with their vision, even when asked. They simply do not know how well they should be seeing, so they will not know if they have a problem.
“At what age should my child have their first eye exam?”
In most cases, Pediatric Optometrists recommend having the first eye exam before age 1. This exam is needed to rule out a misalignment or crossing of an infant’s eyes (strabismus), lazy eye (amblyopia), and rare disorders such as cataracts, glaucoma, or even cancer.
“How can my child be examined if (s)he cannot read?
Small children are not required to read when having a complete eye exam. With today’s instruments, a Pediatric Optometrist can find problems before a child can read or even before the child can speak.
“What is Lazy Eye?”
Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) is when vision in one or both eyes does not develop properly during childhood. It is important to diagnose and treat amblyopia as early as possible. Otherwise, a child with amblyopia may develop permanent vision loss. Causes of amblyopia include crossed eyes, unequal or high prescriptions, congenital cataracts and droopy eyelids.
Babies and Infants
If a parent feels that there is something wrong with their baby’s eyes, then the infant should be brought in for an eye exam. Infants should have a visit to an eye doctor if there is:
- Poor focus on objects after 3 months of age.
- An eye that is turned in or out.
- A pupil that looks white
- A watery eye with overflow tearing.
- An eyelid that is droopy.
- A family history of serious eye problems.
Preschool Children
Vision problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism can occur as early as preschool. At this age, most children don’t have the communication skills to describe blurry vision. Preschool children do not understand what “normal” vision is, so they might not even be aware that they are experiencing a problem. A child may have a vision problem but it may manifest in other ways:
- Complaints of headaches or dizziness.
- Excessive blinking.
- Excessive rubbing of the eyes.
- Tilting or turning of the head while watching TV.
- Closing or covering one eye.
- Clumsiness.
- Squinting.
- Complaints of burning or itching eyes.
School aged children
At school age, between 4 to 6 years old, it is critical to start having annual eye exams. Successful early learning in reading, writing, and math requires not only clear vision, but also good eye muscle coordination and stamina. Reading problems may manifest as:
- Avoiding or disliking reading.
- Losing place when reading.
- Covering one eye or tilting head when reading.
- Rereading the same line.
- Feeling sleepy with reading during the day.
- Complaining of tired eyes when reading.
- Intermittent blurring of print.
- Blurred distance vision for a while after reading.
- Print moving, jumping, pulsating, or floating.
- Frequent loss of place.
- Skipping letters, words, or lines.
- Becoming distracted, restless, or inattentive when reading.
- Holding reading material close to the face.
- Performing below normal range.
Other signs to watch for:
- Irritable, restless, always tired.
- Short attention span or frequent daydreaming.
- Holds pencil in an unusual or tight-fisted grip.
- Poor or hard to read handwriting.