Parents always ask me, “When should I get my kid’s eyes checked? My child seems like he is seeing ok, why should I get his eyes checked?”
My answer, it’s NEVER too soon to start. ALL kids should get their eyes checked, whether there are symptoms or not!
Perfect example, my daughter when she was born I screened her eyes around six months. No problems and no symptoms displayed. However, around age 3, a perfect time to do a pediatric exam (the time when you can start reasoning with your toddler, well, kind of LOL), she had no symptoms of vision problems, but during the exam, I found she had no prescription for glasses in one eye and a ton in the other! She was not seeing out of one eye!!!! If I would have left unchecked, she would have developed a lazy eye, resulting in PERMANENT loss in vision! She would not have been able to develop her 3D vision. Many times, learning is delayed because kids are only “seeing” half! Would if in the future, something happened to her good eye? She would be legally blind! By wearing glasses at a young age, her vision is normal both eyes today eight years later.
In the first three years of life, development is critical, including the eyes. By screening a newborn and performing a pediatric exam around three years of age, you are doing your kid a favor by giving your child the best chance at vision. A newborn will not tell you he doesn’t see very well. A toddler will not tell you she is getting a headache when looking at books. I have special lighting and techniques during a pediatric examination to determine your childs vision and health of your child’s eyes. If there are lazy eye tendencies or a need of glasses, I can help your child out without asking the child if he likes “one or two”;).
If eye disease runs in your family or you have concern about eye disease, an eye exam is important to screen for those tendencies. When you think of going to the eye doctor, usually emphasis is based on if your child needs glasses or not. The health of your child’s eyes should be top priority. I am more than happy to check for these diseases, as well as eye infection that arise along way.
Remember, it’s NEVER too soon to start checking a child’s health of eyes as well as determining if your child needs spectacle correction. I am happy to see children of all ages!
