Children’s Eye Exams | ERC Optometry

Focusing on Your Family

It’s never too early to focus on your children’s eye health and vision. Their sense of sight is important at every age and every stage of development.

It’s common for kids to be nervous for their first eye exam. Our optometrists are experienced with children and can put them at ease. Many kids even think their eye exams are fun! And, if your child does need glasses, we offer a wide selection of colours and styles that will make them smile—in durable materials that will make you smile, too!

Book their appointment today to help set them up for a lifetime of healthy vision.

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When Do Children Need Eye Exams?

The Canadian Association of Optometrists recommends that children have exams at the following intervals:

A comprehensive exam to establish a baseline between the ages of 6 and 9 months
Another comprehensive exam as they grow and develop between the ages of 2 and 5
Annual, comprehensive exams from ages 6 to 19

Proper vision can help children succeed in life and academics. Beyond just seeing what’s in front of them at school, visual skills are needed for social, cognitive, and motor skill development.

Book your child’s eye exam today!

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Valuable Visual Skills

Children aren’t born with the visual skills they need—they develop them over time, just like they develop the ability to walk and talk.

Good visual skills are essential to learning. Approximately 80% of what children learn happens through their vision. Whether it’s reading, interacting with other kids, throwing a ball around outside, or seeing what the teacher writes on the board, eyesight is involved.

If you want to set them up for success, it’s essential that visual skills are developing normally. Children who start school with undiagnosed vision problems may struggle to keep up in class. They may be misdiagnosed with ADHD or another behavioural disorder.

Undiagnosed vision problems can also lead to:

Learning at a slower rate than their peers
Behavioural and disciplinary problems
Higher risk of dropping out of school

Stages of Sight

There are many milestones in a baby's visual progression. Here's what to expect at some important stages:

Birth to 1 Month: Your baby should be staring at bright lights or faces, albeit for a short period.
1 to 3 Months: They'll begin to look toward sounds and follow objects horizontally.
3 to 5 Months: Babies begin to reach for objects and see differences between colours.
5 to 7 Months: Hand-eye coordination will begin to develop, and your baby should start looking at distant objects.
7 to 12 Months: Depth perception, focusing, and other visual skills should be developed, and your baby might begin to copy facial expressions they see.

As children get older, you can encourage their healthy visual development by playing look-and-find games like Where's Waldo, doing word searches and maze games together, and limiting their screen time.

To help your child develop visual skills at the appropriate pace, bring them in for comprehensive eye exams.

How Do I Know if My Child Needs Glasses?

If children are experiencing a vision issue, they are often unable to articulate the problem—they might not even know there is a problem. Unlike adults, children have not established a baseline of what proper vision looks like for them.

Bringing your child for regular eye exams can help establish that baseline. We can detect vision problems early on. Book their appointment today!

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