Help Your Child SEE to Succeed.

You dutifully take your child to the dentist every six months. You take them to the pediatrician when they have the sniffles. You do everything in your power to make sure they grow up healthy and happy.

However, many parents don’t realize the importance of scheduling regular eye examinations for their children. If you fall into this category, you may also be unaware of the myriad of ways good – and bad – vision can affect your child’s performance in school, sports, and even their behavior.

Note that vision screening at school or by your child's pediatrician is not the same as a comprehensive eye and vision examination by an optometrist. Vision screenings are a limited process and can't be used to diagnose an eye or vision problem, but rather may indicate a potential need for further evaluation. Moreover, they often only test for nearsightedness (not being able to see the chalkboard, for example) as opposed to farsightedness (problems with reading a textbook). They may miss as many as 60% of children with vision problems. Even if a vision screening does not identify a possible vision problem, your child may still have one.

Even if you do not notice any eye or vision problems with your child, they should have a thorough eye exam by the time they are 6 months old. During this exam, they will be tested for excess or unequal amounts of nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism, eye movement ability, and eye health. As long as your child’s eyes are healthy they should have eye exams at 3 and 5 years of age prior to entering school. Your child’s visual abilities are developed through these early years; crossed eyes or lazy eyes can develop at this time as well, and if caught early can usually be corrected. From 6 through 18 years of age eye exams are recommended every two years.

“Eighty percent of all learning is performed through vision. Make sure your child has the best possible tools to learn successfully.”*

According to the American Public Health Association, about 10% of preschoolers have eye or vision problems. However, children this age generally will not voice complaints about their eyes.

Take a few minutes to read through the links to the left to learn more about how your child’s vision affects everything they do. If you need to schedule an eye examination for your child, enter your zip code in the locator above to find a trusted eye doctor in your area.

*American Optometric Association