Children should receive their first eye exam at the age of six months, then again when the child turns three. Subsequent exams should be given before the child starts school, then every two years after that. Based on family history or other indicators, your eye care professional may recommend a more frequent exam schedule.
Many eye disorders, including hyperopia (farsightedness), myopia (nearsightedness), and amblyopia (lazy eye) can occur in early childhood, and may affect your child's ability to learn. A comprehensive eye exam can detect these and other disorders.
In between eye exams, you can take an active role in monitoring your child's vision. For instance, regularly ask your child to describe the way he or she sees objects up close or at a distance (across a room or street). The child may not realize if his or her vision is not clear and sharp.
Look for the following signs that your child may have vision problems:
- one or both eyes turning in, out, up, or down
- head turn or head tilt
- frequent headaches
- inability to copy notes from a blackboard
- reversals of words or letters
- frequent rubbing of eyes or tearing
- eye redness or crusting of eye lids/lashes
- eye pain
- disinterested in close work, such as coloring or reading sitting very close to the television (indicating that he/she can't see if made to move back)