Contact Lenses in Ridgewood, New York

When should kids have their eyes examined?

As a parent, you may wonder whether your preschooler has a vision problem or when a first eye exam should be scheduled.
Eye exams for children are extremely important. Experts say 5% to 10% of preschoolers and 25% of school-aged children have vision-related problems. Early identification of a child’s vision problem is crucial because, if left untreated, some childhood vision problems can cause permanent vision loss.

According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), infants should have their first comprehensive eye exam at 6 months of age. Children then should receive additional eye exams at 3 years of age and just before they enter kindergarten or the first grade at about age 5 or 6.

For school-aged children, the AOA recommends an eye exam every two years if no vision correction is required. Children who need eyeglasses or contact lenses should be examined annually or according to their eye doctor’s recommendations.

Early eye exams also are important because children need the following basis of visual skills for learning:

• Near vision
• Distance vision
• Eye teaming (binocularity) skills
• Eye movement skills
• Focusing skills
• Peripheral awareness
• Eye/Hand coordination

Because of the importance of good vision for learning, some states require an eye exam for all children entering school for the first time.

Schedule Your Child’s Eye Exam in Our Office

Your family doctor or pediatrician likely will be the first medical professional to examine your child’s eyes. If eye problems are suspected during routine physical examinations, a referral might be made to an ophthalmologist or optometrist for further evaluation. Eye doctors have specific equipment and training to help them detect and diagnose potential vision problems.

When scheduling an eye exam, choose a time when your child is usually alert and happy. Specifics of how eye exams are conducted depend on your child’s age, but an exam generally will involve a case history, vision testing, determination of whether eyeglasses are needed, testing of eye alignment, an eye health examination and a consultation with you regarding the findings.

After you’ve made an appointment, you may be sent a case history form by mail, or you may be given one when you check-in at the doctor’s office. The case history form will ask about your child’s birth history, such as birth weight and whether the child was full-term. Your eye doctor also may ask whether complications occurred during the pregnancy or delivery.

Be sure to tell your eye doctor if your child has a history of prematurity, has delayed motor development, engages in frequent eye rubbing, blinks excessively, fails to maintain eye contact, cannot seem to maintain a gaze (fixation) while looking at object, has poor eye tracking skills or has failed a pediatrician or pre-school vision screening.

Your doctor will also want to know previous ocular diagnoses and treatments involving your child, such as possible surgeries and glasses or contact lens wear. Be sure to inform your eye doctor if there is a family history of eye problems requiring vision correction, such as nearsightedness or farsightedness, misaligned eyes (strabismus) or amblyopia (“lazy eye”).