Have you taken your child for their first eye examination?
Just as taking care of your child’s teeth is important, so too is having their eyes examined by an Optometrist. Children’s eye examinations are nothing to worry about. They are tailored to your child’s age and can be done from the age of 3 onwards.
In fact pre-school eye examinations are vital to ensure that your child’s eyes are developing normally. Children often do not communicate any visual problems as they do not know what to expect from their eyesight.
Warning signs to look out for that may indicate your child is having difficulty seeing include:
• Screwing eyes up and straining eyes
• Poor hand/eye co-ordination and increased clumsiness
• Eye rubbing, frequent blinking and watery eyes
• Poor concentration and difficulty at school
• Headaches
A full eye examination carried out by an Optometrist will assess your child’s distance and near vision, eye movements, focusing ability, peripheral awareness and general eye health including colour blindness. An eye examination will also screen for amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (turning eye/squint)
Amblyopia = where one eye is weaker and cannot see the same amount of detail as the fellow eye. This can prevent the two eyes working together and make depth perception and binocular vision difficult.
Strabismus = where one eye appears to turn in or out either constantly or when concentrating or tired. This will also disrupt development of normal binocular vision.
Both these conditions are prevalent in childhood and have many different causes. They need to be diagnosed and investigated promptly. Early intervention will allow a chance for normal sight to develop. If necessary your child can be referred to a paediatric ophthalmologist for further treatment.
If a focusing problem is found during the eye examination, corrective glasses can be prescribed. Fortunately, these days there is plenty of choice in children’s eyewear and glasses can be fashionable, functional and fun.
Eye examinations are a vital health check to ensure healthy eyes and normal sight. Healthy eyes and good eye sight is critical to your child’s educational and social development. Early intervention will allow a chance for normal visual development and have less impact on your child’s ability to read, write and play.
Tags: amblyopia, colour blindness, corrective glasses, depth perception, eye examination, eye examinations, eye squint, peripheral awareness, poor concentration, strabismus