There’s a big reason why your child gets screenings for their vision at school and the pediatrician: That’s the main way we catch kids’ vision problems!
- Kids are quite adaptable, and their brains are as well. Unless an eye is turning in or out, it is almost impossible to spot if just one of your child’s eyes has a prescription and not the other. They might be covering an eye when they read or watch TV. If your child does have a prescription in just one eye, this can lead to Amblyopia or “Lazy Eye”. This is a condition where the brain does not develop that side of the visual system properly and so the eye cannot see 20/20. If caught early enough, it is treatable. And the earlier it is caught, the easier it is to treat. Preferably this would be before age 5, but not after age 13 if it can be helped.
- Eye rubbing is another way kids can show that they may have a prescription. Sometimes a prescription is low enough that kids can focus through, but their visual system gets very tired in doing so. Eye rubbing is a response to this. (Side note: it could also be allergies, but I do not want any kids chronically rubbing their eyes as it has been correlated with Keratoconus).
- Squinting: I mean, that’s kind of an easy one. BUT, sometimes it looks cute! My daughter would squint when she was crabby and 2 yrs old. We thought she looked like Clint Eastwood and thought she was being goofy. Nope, she needed glasses. See? Even I had trouble spotting that one.
- Headaches: Now, the tricky thing about this one is that KIDS DON’T TELL YOU ANYTHING. I’ve had many parents sit there with their jaws on the ground because their child suddenly confesses to regular headaches when I asked. So, I’ll say it again: kids don’t tell you anything.
So what should we do? I love pediatric screenings and vision screenings at school, but they will absolutely not replace a full dilated eye exam. I recommend them under 1 yr old, and then every few years after that (or more frequently if your doctor is following them for a prescription change). I have a couple of techniques that I do not use on adults to help me get a prescription on a kid that does not require them to be verbal or even cooperative with reading the chart.