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Your child’s first eye exam should be at 6 months of age. As with all children, the cost of the exam is partially covered by Alberta Health.
During an eye exam for babies and toddlers, your optometrist will assess the structure and function of your child’s eyes and visual system. Your child does not need to respond to any questions, and the exam takes less than 10 minutes. We will also discuss what is normal and abnormal and what to expect as your child grows older.
Children of school age should be seen annually to ensure that their vision is not affecting their learning and school work. In fact, 1 in 4 children diagnosed with a learning disorder actually has a vision problem. School screenings are not adequate to detect all vision issues. Alberta Health partially covers the cost of eye exams until your child turns 19.
Many parents are surprised that the first exam for their child should be at 6 months of age. Their first eye health exam involves screening for sight threatening diseases such as congenital cataract, infantile glaucoma, retinoblastoma and anything that could potentially affect the normal development of the visual system. We can also get a fairly good idea of their eyeglass prescription. Testing using scopes and handheld instruments usually allow your baby to remain right in their car seat or stroller. Exams are painless and usually complete in 5 minutes.
A child’s first eye exam should be at 6 months of age. If there are no significant issues, their next eye exam is at age 3, and annually thereafter. During their early years, your child will be able to respond to pictures and basic tests for vision, depth perception, color vision, and eyeglass prescription. We generally keep their attention using cartoons and games, and use automated equipment to obtain more data. Since the visual system is developing only until about age 8, we must ensure both eyes are receiving clear images and working together in order to prevent lazy eye (amblyopia). After this age, vision impairment due to inadequate development becomes difficult if not impossible to treat.
If your child has any signs of vision impairment, we will talk to you about treatment options that may include eyeglasses, eye exercises and possible eye patching or vision therapy to ensure a lifetime of clear vision. Exams are generally scheduled annually through the school years to ensure they continue to see to their full potential!
It is a common misconception that a child’s eyes get worse with glasses. In fact, the opposite is true.
We now have reliable studies that show near-sightedness (myopia) will actually progress faster if not fully corrected with glasses. Myopia is related to excessive elongation of the eyeball and will not slow down with a reduced or absent eyeglass prescription. Furthermore, inadequate correction of far-sightedness or astigmatism will only lead to eye fatigue, squinting, and blurry vision that may lead to poor school performance and learning. Thankfully, we now have methods to slow the progression of near-sightedness, you can read more about how we help with myopia control.
A child cannot tell you if they have a problem if they do not know any different. This is especially true if one eye sees well, but the other does not. 80% of learning is visual, and up to 40% of children with learning disabilities have an undiagnosed vision problem.
Lazy eye (amblyopia) is of particular concern. As noted earlier, if child has a lazy eye that is not corrected before the age of 8, the chances of ever seeing well out of that eye are extremely low. Having both eyes function together allows 40% better vision, and is important for depth perception and hand-eye coordination. A comprehensive examination is also important to screen for both eye diseases and systemic diseases that may have no symptoms.
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