About Pediatric Eye Exams

It is important that children receive eye exams at the appropriate stages of development to ensure good vision, eye health and success in school. Experts have found that vision problems unnecessarily persist in young children due to a lack of awareness about pediatric eye health. Parents should be aware of what the pediatric exam entails, when to get the exam, the difference between and exam and a screening, and why the exam is important for their child.

Time Frame

• Children should have an eye exam before they reach one year of age. This exam does not have to be done by an eye doctor. It can be performed by the child's primary care physician. If there are no abnormalities or reasons for concern, then the next exam should be done by an eye doctor when the child is three years old. The child should have another eye exam by age five or before they go to Kindergarten. A pediatric eye exam should be done every two years thereafter.

Features

• A comprehensive eye exam should evaluate the following things: visual acuity, focus, eye alignment, eye teaming, eye tracking, testing of color recognition, eye-hand coordination and eye structure. Among other things, the eye exam will check for farsightedness, nearsightedness and astigmatism.

Benefits

• The benefits of an eye exam for during childhood include avoiding unnecessary problems in school due to vision problems. Children can struggle in school for a great length of time without realizing that they're having trouble seeing. This is especially true for younger children. Another benefit to pediatric eye exams is the prevention of major eye or sight damage by catching any abnormalities early. Some eye health and sight issues get worse with time if they're not caught early.

Misconceptions

• Sometimes vision screenings and vision exams are used synonymously or confused with one another. Vision screenings are not used to diagnose vision or eye problems. They are used to find out if a child has a potential problem before it gets worse. Parents may get a false impression that their child has no vision or sight problems because they pass a vision screening. However, many screenings are not designed for small children and may only test sight from far away. They are limited tests but children should receive more comprehensive eye test. Eye exams can diagnose problems and employ appropriate equipment, expertise and methods for a child's vision.

Warning

• Your child may exhibit warning signs of eye problems in several ways. The child may rub their eyes and have trouble focusing on one object for a period of time. Using a finger to keep their place while reading and losing their place in a book are signs that a child needs an eye exam. If you notice a drop in your child's performance scores at school you should keep vision problems in mind as a possible cause. Another warning sign of eye problems is squinting the eyes or closing one eye in an effort to see better.