Children – eyes on our future

Most children have excellent sight and do not need to wear glasses.

Some children may have vision screening done at school (between the ages of four and six). However, the earlier any problems are picked up, the better the outcome. If there are problems and they are not picked up at an early age, the child may have permanently reduced vision in one or both eyes. If you have any concerns about your child’s eyes, or if there is a history of squint or lazy eye in the family, do not wait for the vision screening at school. Take your child to the eye doctor for a sight test.

Your child does not have to be able to read or talk to have a sight test.

Problems children might have:

• Long- and short-sightedness
• Astigmatism
• Lazy Eye
• Squint
• Colour blindness

A short guide to your child’s eyes

Key milestones

Babies

• eyes are more sensitive to bolder colours and black and white patterns
• colour vision improves greatly over the first 3 months after birth
• are able to focus after a few months.

Look out for: A white reflection glimmer in the eyes (you might see this in photos) – might indicate a problem. An eye doctor can check this.

6 months+

• eyes should be fully developed
• can judge depth and see 3D shapes
• in rare cases may need glasses.

Look out for: Your babies’ eyes should be able to follow you around a room after a few months. You can do a quick check – cover each eye in turn. If your baby doesn’t like having one eye covered more than the other one there may be a problem.

4 years+

• At age 4 to 5, vision screening should happen at school. If this hasn’t happened by the end of your child’s first year at school, and you have concerns about their eyes, take them to your eye doctor.
• Treatment for lazy eye is most successful before the age of 7.
• Short-sight is most likely to start between 6 and 13 years of age.

Look out for: A squint or lazy eye often runs in families, and may not be obvious.

The growth spurt

• Eyes continue to grow and develop – so monitor your child’s vision on an ongoing basis.
• Complaints of headaches or tired eyes after school might indicate an eye problem.
• 1 in 5 teenagers are short-sighted.

A possible eye problem?

Look out for these warning signs in your child. They may indicate a problem:

• Rubbing their eyes a lot (except when tired, which is normal).
• Having excessively watery eyes.
• Sitting very close to the TV or holding books/objects close to their face.
• Being clumsy and having poor hand/eye coordination.
• Complaining about blurred or double vision or having unexplained headaches.
• Screwing their eyes up or closing one eye when they read or watch TV.
• Avoid reading, writing or drawing.
• Closing one eye when they go out in bright sunshine.

Babies

Babies can see when they are born, but their eyes don’t always focus accurately. A baby’s eyes may squint sometimes (they may not always line up with each other), but if their eyes always seem to squint, this should be investigated. Their eyes develop gradually, and after about six weeks they should be able to follow something colourful or interesting with their eyes.

Testing babies

An easy test you can do at home when a baby is over six weeks old is to see if your baby’s eyes follow you around a room. If they don’t seem to be able to focus on you properly – for example, if they can’t follow you and recognize your facial gestures, or their eyes wander when they are looking at you – it could suggest a problem. You can also try covering each of the baby’s eyes in turn. If they object to having one eye covered more than the other, they may have problems seeing out of one eye. As they get older, you can start to point out objects both close up and far away. If they struggle to see the objects, contact an eye doctor for advice.