Eye health resource
Pediatric Eye Care: Why Is It Important?
Children may not realize when their vision is blurry or their eyes are not working together normally. Pediatric eye exams can identify refractive error, amblyopia, strabismus, eye-health problems, and progressive myopia during visual development.
Reviewed for accuracy by Justin Bazan, OD on .
Children do not always know when their vision is blurry, one eye sees less clearly than the other, or the eyes are not working together normally. Pediatric eye care matters because early childhood is a period of active visual development and because some meaningful problems can be present before a child complains.
What Can a Pediatric Eye Exam Find?
Depending on the child's age, symptoms, and risk factors, an examination can evaluate for:
- nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism;
- amblyopia, in which vision does not develop normally in one or sometimes both eyes;
- strabismus, or eye misalignment;
- focusing or binocular-vision concerns;
- progressive myopia;
- eyelid, corneal, retinal, or other eye-health problems; and
- findings associated with medical or developmental conditions.
The purpose is not to label every childhood behavior as a vision problem. It is to identify genuine visual or eye-health issues when they are present.
When Should Children Have Eye Exams?
For children who are asymptomatic and considered low risk, the American Optometric Association recommends:
- a comprehensive eye assessment between 6 and 12 months;
- at least one comprehensive exam between ages 3 and 5; and
- an exam before first grade and annually thereafter.
A child with symptoms, a failed screening, progressive myopia, developmental or medical risk factors, a significant family history, or a known eye condition may need more frequent care.
Park Slope Eye participates in InfantSEE, and qualifying InfantSEE assessments are available at no charge during the first year of life.
Why Examine a Child Who Is Not Complaining?
Children may assume that everyone sees the way they do. A child with longstanding blur in one eye, for example, may not recognize that anything is different.
Young children also do not need to know letters to be examined. Optometrists can use objective measurements, lights, pictures, symbols, and observation to assess prescription, alignment, eye movements, pupil responses, and eye health.
What Is the Difference Between Screening and a Comprehensive Exam?
School and pediatric-office screenings are valuable because they can identify many children who need further evaluation. A screening, however, is designed to be brief and cannot answer every question about refractive error, binocular function, symptoms, or eye health.
A child who fails a screening should have the recommended follow-up. A child who passes may still benefit from a comprehensive exam when symptoms or risk factors are present.
Why Does Myopia Deserve Attention?
Myopia means nearsightedness: distance vision becomes blurry as the eye's optical system focuses light in front of the retina. Childhood myopia can progress as the eye grows.
Ordinary glasses correct the blur, but Park Slope Eye also offers myopia-management options intended to slow progression in appropriate children. These may include Ortho-K, low-dose atropine, and appropriate soft multifocal or myopia-control contact lenses.
No treatment can guarantee that myopia will stop, so recommendations and follow-up are individualized.
Does Park Slope Eye Offer Vision Therapy?
No. Park Slope Eye does not currently provide Vision Therapy. If an examination identifies a condition that needs specialist or other care outside our current scope, we can explain the finding and discuss the appropriate next step.
What Pediatric Services Does Park Slope Eye Provide?
Current pediatric care includes comprehensive eye exams, InfantSEE assessments, eyeglass prescriptions and children's eyewear, contact-lens care when appropriate, and myopia-management services.
If you have a concern about your child's vision or they are due for an exam, learn more about pediatric eye care or book an appointment online.
Originally published . Substantially updated .