Children’s Eye Tests

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.

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.*

Children are entitled to an NHS‑funded eye test voucher every 2 years. You may be able to have a free NHS sight test more often than every 2 years if your optometrist recommends you do.

If you pay for a private sight test, you won't be eligible for a free NHS sight test until your next sight test is due. This will usually be 2 years later, but could be sooner in some cases. The optician can advise you.

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.

It can be difficult to get children to wear their glasses. Whilst the majority of children are happy to wear glasses, many children may not want to wear glasses, and the change can be scary or worrying for them for a number of reasons.

Read our article on how to get children to wear glasses to find out more.