When should children have their first Eye Exam?

Dentists have been much more successful educating the public about dental care than eye care professionals have been about eye care. Most children have a dental exam prior to entering school, far more than have had an eye exam.

Learning is estimated to be 85% vision based and it is not yet a requirement for entering school. It is unfortunate that many children’s vision problems are identified by poor learning or sports performance. Early detection prevents learning difficulties rather reacting to them. Often times the vision problem is identified to late for effective treatment.

All children should have their first complete eye examination before they are five.
If there are suspicions or family history of problems the child should be seen as early as the suspicions are noted. Most vision problems identified prior to age 5 can be successfully treated, restoring vision back to 20/20 before the child enters first grade. The same problems if identified at age 10 may no longer be treatable at all, leaving the child with only one good seeing eye for the rest of their life.

Bring your child to your own eye exam so they can watch your examination. Children learn by seeing, watching their parents’ examination will give them a valuable introduction making their eye exam much more successful.