A visit to the eye doctor is more about just getting new glasses – especially for younger kids. Many kids don’t have any symptoms when experiencing vision problems, according to Dr. Sarah Guillette. Children should have their first eye exam between the ages of 3-5 to ensure they’re seeing clearly and their eyes are healthy.
There are 3 common eye conditions in kids:
Needing glasses
- This can happen if your child is nearsighted, farsighted or has astigmatism.
- If your child needs glasses, you may find that they squint to see, rub their eyes, or complain when they read or need to do work that requires close up vision.
- Most children will not complain of blurry vision before the age of 5 or 6 because they’ve always seen the world with blurred vision.
Eyes that don’t line up correctly
- This happens if one eye turns inward or outward.
- Glasses can correct this as well.
- You may see one of the child’s eyes turn inward or outward all on its own.
- The child may close one eye when trying to focus, rub their eyes, or complain that their eyes hurt.
Reduced vision
- This can happen in one or both of the eyes as a result of an eye turning inward or outward, nearsightedness, farsightedness or another issue that doesn’t allow the eye to develop as it should.
- Your child may squint, rub their eyes, say that they can’t see as well out of one of their eyes, or have a short attention span for near tasks such as reading.
If you suspect your child is struggling to see or just want them to get checked with a baseline eye exam, make an appointment at one of our locations.
