It can be hard keeping up with the all the responsibilities of being a parent. Sometimes, in all the hustle and bustle, eye care gets overlooked and your child’s vision isn’t made a high priority—especially if your child isn’t currently wearing glasses. However, it’s important for parents to keep up with the vision needs of their children because many vision issues can be corrected in children if they’re caught early.
Regular Eye Exams for Children
Schedule regular eye exams to ensure that prescriptions are up to date and to catch any problems early. Infants should have their first eye exam between six and nine months of age and then have another comprehensive eye exam between the ages of two and five. Once children enter school, they should be having yearly exams.
According to the Canadian Association of Optometrists, a thorough eye exam for a child should include:
- Review of their health and vision history.
- Comprehensive eye tests, including ones for nearsightedness/farsightedness, depth/colour perception, eye coordination, lazy eye and focusing ability.
- Overall eye health assessment.
Remember that a school vision screening test is not a comprehensive eye exam and is not thorough enough to ensure optimal eye care.
If you’ve started to notice that your child is displaying any of the following symptoms, you’ll want to schedule an eye exam as soon as possible as it could be a sign of deteriorating eye health.
- Complaining of frequent headaches, eye pain or squinting/rubbing their eyes.
- Issues with school, including paying attention during lessons or a sudden drop in grades.
- Holding reading material close to their eyes or sitting close to computer or tv screens.
To help your children’s vision be the best they can be—make sure you’re scheduling regular eye exams.
Hakim Optical offers comprehensive eye exams through our Eye Exam Centres,
available throughout Canada at many of our locations.
Contact your local Hakim Optical to schedule an appointment or book online today.