A window on the world
Your child’s eyes are special. In the early years, vision helps them find out about the world around them, about their home, about you. Later, as they go through school, their eyesight lets them learn and discover – in fact, about 80% of what is taught in schools is presented visually. Being able to see clearly is therefore incredibly important in your child’s overall development. So it’s not surprising that we take your child’s eyesight seriously. Every bit as seriously as you do.
Caring for young eyes
Most very young children have their eyesight assessed as part of routine developmental checks. While these are very important, they aren’t as thorough as a complete eye test by a qualified optician. So we recommend that your child has their eyes tested from an early age.
Testing before your son or daughter goes into full-time education means that any problems that they may have are identified early, setting them up for a happy and fulfilling school life. That’s because not being able to see clearly can be confusing in a busy classroom.
Poor eyesight can cause learning and behavioural problems, which might be blamed on other things. This is especially true for young children, who may find it difficult to explain the difficulties they are having with their eyesight. They may not even be aware they have a problem at all.
And of course the sooner that vision problems are detected, the better the outcome. Conditions such as squint and amblyopia (lazy eye) can be treated more effectively if they are picked up earlier, which could make a huge difference to your child.
Screen time for kids: impacts and advice
Signs of eye problems in children
Children develop full vision in each eye over the course of their first year. Young babies can't see beyond a few feet and there's nothing to worry about if they can't recognise your face from a distance for their first three or four months.
Watery eyes are also common in young babies as the ducts that carry the tears away from the surface of their eyes are not fully open for the first few months. If this problem doesn't clear up by your child's first birthday, it's best to get it checked out with your GP.
More serious eye problems that need advice from your optician or GP include persistent or recurring eye infections, or if you notice your baby's eyes do not move together perfectly, e.g. when looking at an object straight ahead one eye is pointed slightly outward (squint).
When your child is three or four, if they have difficulty recognising shapes, colours or showing no interest in pictures in storybooks, your opticians should have the necessary tests to conduct a full eye examination.
Your child doesn't have to be able to read to have their sight tested.
Things to look out for
It’s often difficult to tell whether your child has sight problems, which is why regular eye tests are so important. There are a number of things to look out for:
- Straining their eyes or tilting their head to see better
- Frequent eye rubbing
- Losing their place while reading, or using a finger to guide their eyes
- Sensitivity to light and/or excessive tearing
Testing young eyes
Children’s eye tests are different from those for adults. We use specially designed charts that allow children to recognise shapes or pictures, or even to match letters, rather than the traditional charts that you may be familiar with. This means that we can test children’s eyes even if they are unable to read.
Opticians are specially trained to test children’s eyes. They know that the test room can feel a little intimidating to a young child so will use techniques to make it feel as welcoming as possible.
Screening for schools
At Specsavers, we know the importance of children’s eyecare. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Thomson Screening to deliver free, easy-to-use vision-screening software to every school across the country
Children’s glasses are different
Our children’s glasses are not just smaller versions of adults’ styles. We spend a lot of time developing them so that by the time they arrive in our stores, our children’s glasses are exactly that: glasses specifically designed for children. So as well as looking good, they have a number of features that take into account your child’s anatomy and head shape, and the fact that they are likely to grow during the time they own them.
Activity book
Want to know how best to draw eyes? Or make a pinhole camera? For this, and more eye-themed fun, download our activity book here.