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As a parent, it’s difficult to determine whether your child has a vision problem. One of the biggest reasons for not knowing the state of your child’s vision is because most children don’t complain about it. You may wonder when you should schedule your child's first eye exam. The American Optometric Association (AOA) states that our first comprehensive eye exam should be when we are six months of age, followed by our second eye exam at age three, and then just before entering school at age five.
It’s extremely important for children to have eye exams at a young age. By the time children enter grade school approximately 25 percent of the children have vision problems. Early detection of a child's vision problem is important because children’s visual system is highly sensitive and more responsive to treatment. After the age of about seven or eight, it’s difficult to correct certain conditions such as Amblyopia (Lazy Eye).
For school-aged children, an eye exam is recommended every year. The BC government covers children’s eye exams annually, so there is no cost to parents. However, each Optometrist has different eye exam fees and some may charge a small fee for children’s eye exams.
Good vision is essential for learning in school and the following skills are important for adequate performance in school.
- Near and Distance vision
- Binocular (two eyes) coordination
- Eye movement skills
- Focusing skills
- Color Vision
Some eye conditions that may be detected during a child’s first eye exam are:
Strabismus – Misalignment of the eyes. This results in poor depth perception.
Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) – This is when the vision is reduced in one or both eye with no detectable eye disease. Amblyopia is a result of visual deprivation caused by strabismus, an uncorrected glasses prescription or obstruction of visual stimuli.
Convergence Insufficiency – Inability to maintain fixation on near objects. This can result in eyestrain.
A routine eye exam for our children can help ensure healthy eyes with good vision.
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
