How Often Does Your Child Need an Eye Exam?

Even if you don’t struggle with vision problems yourself, you can probably imagine how frustrating it could be for your child. They’re sitting in class, struggling to see the board, or they’re out on the playground, unable to see the ball clearly. Ultimately, you want to avoid this situation.

That’s where eye exams come in. With these periodic visits to a pediatric eye doctor, you can rest easy knowing that your child is either seeing clearly or getting the corrective lenses they need. Fortunately, our team offers this care at all of our Benjamin Optical offices throughout New York City. 

How frequently should you be visiting us, though? That depends on your child’s age.

By age 1

Experts generally recommend that your child first gets their eyes checked by age 1. While your pediatrician checks their eyes right after birth, a second screening ensures their eyes are working and developing properly. 

Before they turn 3

Get them another eye exam before they start kindergarten.

This becomes even more important if any of your other children have vision problems or you notice signs your child has trouble seeing, like squinting or head tilting. 

Between 3 and 5

The American Academy of Opthalmology recommends that all children get their vision and eye alignment screened between these ages. That means we can check for not just near and farsightedness, but also for issues like a lazy eye or misaligned eyes. 

If your child doesn’t know their ABCs yet, don’t worry. We have special eye charts with pictures just for situations like this. 

After age 5

From this point forward, you will generally need to get annual, or possibly biennial,` eye exams for your child. Based on what we’ve observed in your child’s first few eye exams, we can recommend the right eye exam schedule for them. 

If we haven’t seen any visual acuity or alignment problems in your child’s eye, we generally recommend that you visit us every other year. Again, though, watch for signs of vision troubles. If you think they might be having difficulties seeing clearly, never hesitate to visit us.

If your child has vision issues, visiting us annually ensures we can properly treat them. Updating the prescription for their glasses each year, for example, means they’ll see as clearly as possible. 

You might, like many parents, opt to schedule your children’s eye exams during the summer. That way, you can send your child to school confident that vision problems won’t interfere with their learning or playing. 

To schedule your child’s eye exam, call any of our offices or book an appointment online today.