Childhood Clarity:
Building Strong Vision Foundations with Pediatric Eye Care

According to experts, 80% of learning is visual, which means that if your child is having difficulty seeing clearly, his or her learning can be affected. This also goes for infants who develop and learn about the world around them through their sense of sight. To ensure that your children have the visual resources they need to grow and develop normally, their eyes and vision should be checked by an eye doctor at certain stages of their development.

AOA's Guide to Pediatric Eye Wellness

According to the American Optometric Association (AOA) children should have their eyes examined by an eye doctor at 6 months, 3 years, at the start of school, and then at least every 2 years following.

If there are any signs that there may be a vision problem or if the child has certain risk factors (such as developmental delays, premature birth, crossed or lazy eyes, family history or previous injuries) more frequent exams are recommended. A child that wears eyeglasses or contact lenses should have his or her eyes examined yearly. Children’s eyes can change rapidly as they grow.

Eye Exams in Infants:
Birth – 24 Months

A baby’s visual system develops gradually over the first few months of life. They have to learn to focus and move their eyes, and use them together as a team. The brain also needs to learn how to process the visual information from the eyes to understand and interact with the world. The foundation for motor development such as crawling, walking and hand-eye coordination also comes with the development of eyesight.

You can ensure that your baby is reaching milestones by keeping an eye on what is happening with your infant’s development and by ensuring that you schedule a comprehensive infant eye exam at 6 months. At this exam, the eye doctor will check that the child is seeing properly and developing on track, and look for conditions that could impair eye health or vision (such as strabismus (misalignment or crossing of the eyes), farsightedness, nearsightedness, or astigmatism).

Since there is a higher risk of eye and vision problems if your infant was born premature or is showing signs of developmental delay, your eye doctor may require more frequent visits to keep watch on his or her progress.

In toddler and preschool years, children rapidly develop intellectual and motor skills. They acquire important skills like fine motor abilities, hand-eye coordination, and perception, which contribute to reading, writing, sports, and creative activities. Vision is crucial for these milestones. Parents must watch for lazy eye (amblyopia) and crossed eyes (strabismus). Early treatment improves success rates.

Eye Exams in Preschool Children: 2-5 Years Old

Parents should also be aware of any developmental delays having to do with object, number or letter recognition, color recognition or coordination, as the root of such problems can often be visual. If you notice your child squinting, rubbing his eyes frequently, sitting very close to the tv or reading material, or generally avoiding activities such as puzzles or coloring, it is worth a trip to the eye doctor.

Eye Exams in School-Aged Children:
Ages 6-18 Years Old

Undetected or uncorrected vision problems can cause children and teens to suffer academically, socially, athletically and personally. If your child is having trouble in school or after school activities there could be an underlying vision problem. Proper learning, motor development, reading, and many other skills are dependent upon not only good vision, but also the ability of your eyes to work together.

Children with vision issues, like focus, reading, teamwork, or hand-eye coordination problems, may feel frustrated and show behavioral issues. They may not realize that their vision is abnormal, so they can't ask for assistance.

In addition to the symptoms written above, signs of vision problems in older children include:

  • Short attention span

  • Headaches

  • Frequent blinking

  • Avoiding reading

  • Tilting the head to one side

  • Reading placement struggles.

  • Double vision

  • Poor reading comprehension

The Eye Exam

In addition to basic visual acuity (distance and near vision) an eye exam may assess the following visual skills that are required for learning and mobility:

  • Binocular vision: how the eyes work together as a team

  • Focusing

  • Peripheral Vision

  • Color Vision

  • Hand-eye Coordination

  • Tracking

During the examination, the doctor will check for eye diseases or health conditions by examining the eye area and its interior. Mention any relevant personal history (e.g. premature birth, developmental delays, family eye problems, injuries, or medications). Also, address any concerns indicating a potential vision issue.

If the eye doctor finds your child has vision problem, they may suggest eyeglasses, contact lenses, eye patch, vision therapy or Ortho-k, based on condition and doctor’s expertise. Early diagnosis is crucial for better treatment of eye and vision issues.

Following the guidelines for children’s eye exams and staying alert to any signs of vision problems can help your child to reach his or her potential.