Children’s eye exams
Your child’s eyesight is important to us – a children’s eye exam is performed by one of our experienced optometrists who applies advanced training and clinical tools to examine your child’s eyes. At our clinics at Brampton and Mississauga, we are committed to providing a good experience, high-quality treatment and Children’s eye exams.
When does my child need an eye exam?
Children should have their firsteye test at the age of 6 months—their second between the ages of two and five – and then every year after that. We recommend children who need eyeglasses have an annual check or listen to the recommendation given by their optometrist.
Why does my child need an eye exam?
Eye tests for children or children’s eye exams are important to ensure your child’s overall eye health.
For the first 12 years of a child’s life, 80 percent of learning is visual. Making eyesight vital for your child’s learning and development. Kids might not know what normal eyesight should be like and can have a hard time understanding and explaining eye problems that may affect their school performance or daily activities. It can also be difficult for parents to understand how healthy their child’s eyesight is.
Our eye doctors help protect your child’s vision and eye health with early checkups. Through these children’s eye exams, we can detect eye conditions such as amblyopia or a lazy eye, which is when one eye has low vision. If caught early and treated before the age of 6 or 7, there is a good chance that eye training and the right pair of eyeglasses can improve eyesight or resolve the issue altogether.
What can I expect at my child’s eye exam?
Many parents are anxious about taking their children for their first eye examination, but there is nothing to worry about. To assess a child’s eyesight,the optometrist performs the following assessments:
- Eye-tracking – good tracking skills are essential for coordination
- Eye Focusing – children should be able to adjust quickly seeing from far to near and vice versa
- Detection of periphery
- Distance and Near Visual acuity – to make your child feel at ease we use pictures, symbols and other simple tools to assess their vision
- Depth Perception – good binocular vision starts with proper depth perception. We have simple to use and child-friendly tests to help. Such as the Titmus Stereo Fly test and the Lang Stereo test- Random dot version
- Color Perception – this is vital to check with younger children. Tests such as the Ishihara Colour plates are used, and sometimes we examine further if there is a colour vision problem using the Farnsworth D-15 Colour vision test
- Eye Muscle Teaming – your child’s ability to see with both eyes together is extremely important for developing good reading skills
- Peripheral Awareness
Many parents believe their child needs to know the alphabet before their first examination. That is not the case -our eye doctors use other methods to assess children’s eyes, such as using shapes and pictures to determine your child’s eye focus instead.
Preparing your child for an eye exam
If you are bringing your babyto an eye doctor for the first time, we recommend scheduling at a time when it is usually awake. To help your child get ready for an eye exam, you can explain to them what to expect and our doctors can also calmly explain everything to them before starting.
Is a comprehensive eye exam for children the same as school vision screenings?
Many children undergo a vision screening or a sight test at school. These tests are limited and might not diagnose a vision or eye problem in your child. Whereas a comprehensive eye test screens the entire visual system of the eye to identify underlying health conditions.
Scheduling your child’s eye exam
Booking an appointment to see one of our experienced optometrists is super easy. Simply call us at one of our optometry offices in Brampton or Mississauga or book an appointment online.
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