Eyecare for children
Up to 90% of what a child learns comes from what they see!
- When should I take my child for a children's eye test?
- Children’s visual development
- What should I watch out for as a parent?
- Common children’s eye conditions?
When should I take my child for a children's eye test?
Poor vision can hinder a child's development, and failure to spot and deal with any inadequacy in young eyes can often lead to even bigger difficulties in later life. So, it's vital that children are taken for regular eye checks.
All newborn babies should have been screened before they leave hospital to ensure that their eyes are working properly. All children should then have a full eye examination at 3 years old and regularly thereafter. All children's eye tests are FREE on the NHS and our optometrist will be delighted to look at your child's eyes, no matter how young the child is. Your child doesn’t need to know the alphabet as we use an electronic eye test chart which uses various pictures to test your child’s vision(see below).
A FREE range of spectacles are available to children under the NHS optical voucher scheme. We also have a full range of children’s glasses you can upgrade to. These frame designs are more flexible, durable and comfortable for children to wear. They also have the option of having thinner, lightweight, polycarbonate lenses and reflection-free lenses. For older children we can also fit contact lenses and our contact lens page explains the features, benefits and aftercare that will be necessary.
Children’s visual development
At birth babies cannot see fine detail. At 6 months a baby’s vision is 8 times better and now can make eye contact with a parent entering the room. Until around the age of 6 children’s eyes are not fully developed. Unfortunately, the chances of fixing certain vision problems after the age of 6 are greatly reduced.
Our eyes are designed to work in “stereo”!
The brain processes the individual pictures it receives from each eye and then creates a 3D image. If a picture from one eye is out of focus the brain will ignore it and only use the clear picture coming from the good eye. This will hinder the brain in producing a good 3D image and impact your child’s hand-eye coordination; this may in turn impact their performance in sport.
What should I watch out for as a parent?
A child should be examined immediately if they show the following typical symptoms to rule out any vision problems:-
- Gets frustrated when reading
- Closes or covers one eye
- Poor handwriting
- Screws up eyes or frowns to see
- Rubs eyes and blinks a lot
- Finds it difficult to copy words from the blackboard
- Complains that things are blurry or hard to see
- Short attention span; gazes out of the window
- Frequently looses place when reading
- Skips words or whole lines of text
Common children eye conditions
A squint (Strabismus) is a condition which affects 3%-4% of children. In children a squint can be completely corrected if detected early. Most of the time it can be corrected by just wearing spectacles. However, eye surgery may be required for certain types of squints.
As a young child poor vision in one eye can lead to a lazy eye (Ambylopia). This can lead to permanently poor vision if not corrected with spectacles in the critical early years of life. Lazy eyes affect 2% to 3% of children.
At the adolescent stage significant growth occurs and the eye changes in size. During these growth spurts the eye may be more prone to visual defects, so, frequent eye tests are key to detecting conditions early without it impacting a child’s education. This may lead to a reduction in their prescription and for other myopia (short-sightedness) may start to develop.
These conditions are more likely to be present in children if:-
- There is family history
- History of both parents wearing glasses from an early age
- Difficult, small or premature birth
Strabismus is the condition in which a person is unable to align both eyes simultaneously under normal visual conditions (sometimes appearing as being “cross eyed”). Besides the obvious turning of an eye, the individual has reduced binocular function and stereopsis (depth perception) and may develop reduced vision in one eye (amblyopia). Strabismus has many different causes. The specific treatment depends on the specific type and cause. Strabismus can be treated at any age. Some factors favour younger patients, and compliance and motivation are more favourable with adults. Treatment typically consists of prescription lenses and prisms and a program of vision therapy. In certain patients surgery may be recommended in conjunction with vision therapy. Surgery may cosmetically straighten the eyes but does not typically improve visual function. The prognosis for optimal outcome in these cases is enhanced through pre-surgical and post surgical vision therapy. Whether constant or intermittent, strabismus always requires treatment. It rarely goes away by itself, and children do not outgrow it.
Amblyopia, more commonly known as “lazy eye,” is a condition manifested by reduced vision not correctable by glasses or contact lenses. It is not attributable to any apparent structural or pathologic condition. It may be related to strabismus because a turned eye generally loses vision to some extent from disuse. Many patients with amblyopia may be unaware of the condition until they undergo a vision screening or a comprehensive vision examination. Amblyopia has many causes, and the treatment depends on the cause. In general, the treatment consists of the use of lenses and prisms in conjunction with a vision therapy program. Patching of the non amblyopic eye is of limited value unless it is part of an active vision therapy program. For many years amblyopia was thought only to be amenable to treatment during the critical period, up to age 7 or 8 years. Current research has conclusively demonstrated that effective treatment can take place at any age, but the length of the treatment period increases dramatically the longer the condition has existed before treatment. Research has demonstrated that patients with amblyopia are more likely to sustain injuries resulting in the loss of their good eye than individuals with two good eyes. Early childhood examinations are therefore essential.