Infants and young children learn by observing the world around them. In fact, nearly 80 percent of what a child understands and learns is visually experienced.

If you notice your baby’s eyes turning outward or inward (lasting more than a few seconds) or any other sign of an eye problem, please contact us to schedule an appointment for your child as soon as possible. If not, keep this timetable in mind–we recommend your child have their eyes and vision regularly examined at 6 months, age 3, and then during the summer before 1st grade.

Your optometrist has the skills, knowledge, and tools to give young children a thorough, comprehensive eye exam in a comfortable and fun environment.

Eye doctors performing eye exams on children under two years of age will check the performance of eye muscles, the ability of the eyes to focus on one object and assess if a refractive error, such as nearsightedness, is developing. Early detection and treatment of eye disorders or vision problems are vital to ensuring babies do not experience developmental issues or worsening of eye disorders.

Between two and five years old, children undergo rapid growth both physically and intellectually, improving their perceptual skills, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills. Honing these abilities prepares preschool children for reading, writing, playing with other children and discovering their creative talents. Unless their vision is 20/20, preschoolers may suffer academically, socially and psychologically. Our optometrists want parents to understand how important it is to have their children’s eyes examined every year, especially since signs of refractive errors, amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (eye turn) emerge mostly during this time in a child’s life.

• Shortened/distracted attention span
• Complaining of headaches or “tired” eyes
• Blinking and squinting frequently
• Head tilting
• Saying there is “two” of something when there is only one object
• Poor academic performance

In some cases, teachers may suggest to parents that a child presents ADHD symptoms when, in fact, they need glasses or other optometric treatments to correct a vision or eye disorder. In addition, a school-based eye exam that uses a chart to assess distant vision should never replace a professional, comprehensive eye examination.

During a pediatric eye exam, our optometrist will test your child’s binocular vision, focusing capacity, peripheral vision, tracking and color vision. Pediatric eye doctors also want to know from parents if their child has had any eye injuries, development delays or other problems that could affect eyesight or internal eye health.