Children's Eye Tests | Specsavers UK

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, about 80% of what is taught in schools is presented visually.

Being able to see clearly is incredibly important in your child’s overall development.

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.

So it’s not surprising that we take your child’s eyesight as seriously as you do.

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At what age should you have your first eye test?

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. We recommend that your child has their eyes tested from an early age - however, if you have no concerns, it’s perhaps better to wait until your child is a little older — around three-and-a-half years — before taking them for a full eye examination.

Even if your child’s vision seems good, it’s worth taking them for a full eye test at a qualified optician when they reach school age, just to make sure that there aren’t any issues with their vision that are likely to affect their early school years. Testing before your child 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.

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, or may not even be aware they have a problem. The sooner vision problems are detected, the better the outcome.

Some tests can be used on infants and preschool children who cannot read or recognise letters. If you have any concerns about your child’s eyesight, you should find a local optician who will test their vision.

Do you pay for children's eye tests?

The NHS will cover the full cost of an eye test for all children under 16. Those under 19 in full-time education, are also entitled to an NHS-funded eye test.

Find out more about NHS-funded eye tests

What happens during a children’s eye test?

We know that eye tests can be a little overwhelming for some children — especially if it’s their first time. That’s why we’ve made kids eye tests as enjoyable and child-friendly as possible.

Children’s eye tests are a little 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 or recognise letters. Even though some of the equipment used in your child’s eye test is different, it doesn’t mean that it is any less accurate than an adult’s. Great care is taken to ensure that it isn’t.

As well as checking the eyes, our opticians also evaluate the muscles and associated structures to ensure they are healthy too.

Our 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 the optician will use techniques to make it feel as welcoming as possible. You will, of course, be able to stay with your child throughout the test so you can see everything that happens.

Will my child need to have eye drops put in when they have their eyes examined?

Your child’s optometrist might want to use eye drops as part of their examination. These drops are designed to relax the muscles inside your child’s eyes allowing for a more accurate assessment of their vision and making it easier to check that their eyes are healthy. The eye drops might sting a little when they are administered, and will cause some blurring for about 24 hours or so, but the optometrist will discuss this with you further during your child’s eye appointment.

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Signs your child might need an eye test

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
Falling behind in school
Complaining of headaches or tired eyes
The presence of a ‘turn’ in the eye or a misdirection of the eyes
Consistently sitting too close to the TV or holding a book too close
Avoiding activities which require near vision, such as reading or homework, or distance vision, such as participating in sports or other recreational activities
Closing one eye to read, watch TV or see better
Avoiding using a computer or tablet because it hurts their eyes
A ‘white reflex’ in photographs. This is similar in appearance to red-eye, except it’s white. It is extremely serious – if you notice it, you should seek medical attention immediately

Children's eyecare

Children begin to develop vision in their eyes 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. By the age of about eight their eyesight should be fully developed.

Signs of eye conditions in children

Watery eyes are 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, and colours or show 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 or recognise letters to have their sight tested.

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Common children’s eye conditions

Children who are short-sighted find it easier to focus on objects when they are close up, but those further away will be blurred.

About one in three people are short-sighted.

The condition is usually first diagnosed at around the age of 12, but younger children can also have it.

In children, short-sightedness is easily corrected with glasses and/or contact lenses.

Children who are long-sighted find it easier to focus on things which are further away than those which are close to them.

Long-sighted children may experience blurred vision or tired eyes when reading.

Most children are slightly long-sighted but often will not require glasses to correct it unless it is causing a problem.

If your child has a significant amount of long sight, it can be corrected with glasses and/or contact lenses.

A squint is a condition where one of your child’s eyes points in a different direction when they are looking straight ahead. Most commonly an eye will be turned towards the nose, but sometimes an eye can turn outwards. It can cause blurred vision, double vision and lead to lazy eye.

Around 1 in 20 children have a squint. It usually appears before the age of five and is picked up in routine eye checks. They can be treated with glasses and eye exercises. If these don’t work, surgery may be needed to move the muscles that control the eye.

Astigmatism is a minor eye condition that causes blurred or distorted vision.

It occurs when the cornea or lens isn’t a perfectly curved shape (more like a rugby ball than a football). It is very common, many people who wear glasses will have some degree of astigmatism.

However, if left untreated, astigmatism can cause headaches, eye strain and tiredness, particularly after focusing on something for long periods, such as reading or using a computer. In most cases, astigmatism is easily corrected with glasses or contact lenses.

If your child is diagnosed with an amblyopic or lazy eye, it usually means that one of their eyes is weaker than the other, causing them to rely more on their ‘good’ eye.

Around 1 in 50 children develop an amblyopic or lazy eye. It can usually be diagnosed at about the age of four during routine eye checks with a qualified optician, or at their developmental screening.

Glasses will be prescribed to correct the vision in the weaker eye and often no further treatment is required. If the weak eye does not respond fully then a patch can be worn over the good eye for part of the day to force the weaker eye to work.

Treatment is usually effective but may take a while.

Children’s glasses

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.

Most children who need to wear glasses are either long-sighted or short-sighted, in which case they can take their pick from any of the styles in our children’s range. If your child needs to wear glasses due to a medical condition, your optician will be able to advise on the best options to suit them and their needs.

It’s normal for kids to feel a bit reluctant to wear glasses, and in most cases, it’s all about how their glasses look. So it’s important to make the right decision when choosing glasses for your child to make sure they feel happy, comfortable and confident – so they’ll want to wear their glasses, not just because they need to.

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Kids' glasses

From bright and colourful, to simple and stylish, we’ve got a great selection of glasses for your little ones to choose from.

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Kids’ sunglasses

Children under 16 are at a higher risk of UV damage to their eyes – make sure they’re protected against long-lasting sun damage while they’re playing outside with a pair of sunglasses.

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Children's contact lenses

If they’re not keen on glasses, or they’d like to try something else, your child might like to try wearing contact lenses.

Children’s contact lenses

Children’s glasses features

Our children's glasses include a range of features to make sure their glasses stay comfortable and last longer.

Scratch-resistant coating

All our children’s glasses come with a free scratch-resistant treatment as standard. This is applied to the surface of each lens and will help their lenses last a little longer.

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Spring hinges

Many of our children’s glasses include spring hinges, which are great for keeping up with active youngsters. The sides can be bent inwards and outwards when putting them on or taking them off, which offers extra durability and flexibility – and means they’re less likely to break.

Ask our team in-store about which frames come with this feature.

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Lens tints

We wouldn’t usually recommend lens tints for kids, but a great option to consider is photochromic lenses (also known as reactions or transitions), which get darker when exposed to UV light. So if your little one is always in and out of doors, their lenses will adapt to the changing light, and provide that extra level of protection.

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Children's UltraClear SuperClean + UV protection

Our UltraClear SuperClean lenses keep your child's eyes happy while using digital screens, help their glasses stay clean and scratch-free, and provide full UV protection. What's more, they're only £20 per pair.

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How much should you spend on your child’s glasses?

You don’t need to spend a fortune on glasses for your child. Especially if they’re new to wearing glasses, it’s important they have the time to adapt to using, wearing and caring for their frames – which may include some bumps and breaks along the way.

Even better, all glasses in our children's and teen's £90 ranges are free with an under-16s' NHS optical voucher. Your free pair will come with standard single-vision lenses with a scratch-resistant UV filter. Plus, under-16s get a free NHS-funded eye test.