Caring for your child’s vision and eye health starts early. Eye doctor visits should begin at around your baby’s first birthday and definitely by age 3. Even when your pre-school age child doesn’t read yet, our optometrists have many ways of testing visual development, beyond reading traditional eye charts. Be sure your child starts off well-equipped, with sharp vision, to learn quickly and view the world clearly. For children eye exams are crucial. Visit our optometrist in Fair Lawn for complete pediatric eye exams each year.
About Vision Screenings
Pediatric eye evaluations done in less professional settings, like an elementary school, are merely vision screenings. Those exams are not thorough enough to give a complete picture of your child’s visual development. In fact, your primary pediatrician or family doctor will likely refer you to an optometrist for a detailed eye exam. Comprehensive and age-appropriate eye exams at your pediatric optometrist are essential to catch any vision problems early. An early pediatric eye exam, plus annual vision exams thereafter, will ensure that your child enjoys the best possible vision–for life.
What We Look for in Children’s Eye Exams
Our complete pediatric eye exam typically includes an in-depth assessment of physical eye health, eye function (focusing ability, eye coordination and more), along with vision testing using specialized equipment and/or eye charts. With annual childhood vision testing, our pediatric optometrists can quickly uncover kid’s eye disease or conditions like:
- Strabismus (misaligned eyes/pupils, crossed eyes)
- Amblyopia (lazy eye)
- Nearsightedness (myopia)
- Farsightedness (hyperopia)
- Astigmatism (abnormally curved cornea/eye surface)
Signs Your Child May Need Vision Care
Certain behaviors, habits and reading performance problems can be traced to poor vision in children. See our Fair Lawn eye doctor for kids eye evaluations any time you notice:
- Avoidance or not liking school or homework
- Problems paying attention for more than a few seconds, depending upon age
- Trouble seeing chalkboards or computer screens at school (or home)
- Blurred vision
- Eye pain
- Eyelid droop
- Headaches
- Rubbing eye(s) frequently
- Squinting often and/or watery eyes
- Covering one eye or turning the head to see more clearly
- Holding books close to the face
- Delayed reading ability or slow reading/writing
- Poor reading comprehension for your child’s age
Children’s Eye Exams: What to Expect
During your child’s pediatric eye exam, our optometrist will ask about your child’s health and family medical history. We’ll ask if you have noticed any of the above signs of poor vision. We also:
- Conduct a physical exam of eyes and eyelids.
- Look inside the eye pupil with a penlight, checking for proper muscle activity and any eye disease or anatomical problems.
- Perform cornea reflex tests, looking for a sharply-defined reflection from the rear of the eye through the pupil’s center, which indicates normal focusing ability.
- Individual eye testing (with one eye covered).
- Eye chart exam (appropriate to your child’s age). There are symbol/picture charts for pre-schoolers and other tests to determine visual acuity or sharpness in non-readers.)
- As your child becomes an adult, eye exams change. If not done earlier, we add dilation in some future visits, to better examine the inner eye. We’ll also add specific testing for macular degeneration, glaucoma and other typically age-related eye problems as needed.
Get Pediatric Eye Exams for Your Child in Fair Lawn
For whole family eye care, count on Resident Eye Care Associates, your optometrist in Fair Lawn, NJ. We perform comprehensive eye exams for kid’s vision correction, and to maintain eye health, for all ages. Make your annual pediatric eye care appointment by contacting us at (201) 797-2747 today.