Children’s Vision

Seeing 20/20 is not everything. That’s why we’ve made a comprehensive eye test to cover for everything else.

A large number of kids who struggle with reading, writing, copying from the board or eye-hand coordination in sports suffer from a vision-related problem.

Surprisingly, 73% of these vision-related problems get past a school vision screen! (source: American Association of Optometry)

You may ask, “How can my child who sees 20/20 have poor vision?” It could be…

  • they have difficulty shifting focus from their notes to the board
  • they keep losing their place when reading because their eyes don’t track well
  • their eyes can’t hold a focus on a moving object such as a ball thrown in their direction

Signs and Symptoms Your Child May Have a Vision Problem Include…

Frequent eye rubbing or blinking

Frequent headaches

Covering one eye

Tilting head to one side

Avoiding reading and other near activities

Avoiding activities like ball games

Losing place when reading

Difficulty remembering what was just being read

An eye turning in or out

Seeing double

Why Should Parents Be Concerned?

01

Children take in 80% of what they learn through vision. A child with poor vision may need to exert much effort just to maintain visual focus during schoolwork. This added strain may cause them to miss out on the more important aspects of learning.

02

Many school vision screens only test for eyesight across a room by reading a chart of letters (distance acuity). This is woefully inadequate in detecting most learning-related vision problems!

A child who passed a 20/20 eyesight screen can still suffer from a visual efficiency problem.

03

Children’s eyes are constantly changing as they grow. This means even if their last eye test was normal, visual problems may develop in a few months’ time. Remember too that vision problems don’t just go away on their own. The earlier they are detected and treated, the better.

04

Failure to detect a visual problem means your child has to work hard to compensate for the inefficiency. The longer they struggle, the further they can get behind. A comprehensive eye test is critical so that all aspects of your child’s vision is assessed and nothing is missed.

How Can We Help?

Our Eye Tests Are Thorough

Our comprehensive eye test can detect functional vision problems that school vision screens cannot. Our well-trained optometrists use state-of-the-art equipment to ensure that your child’s eyes are healthy and that no vision problem stands in the way of their learning.

The Right Eye Tests for Every Age

Remember that a 2-year-old and a 10-year-old will have different abilities to respond to visual tests. We are experienced in choosing the right tests for your child, tailored for their age and specific visual needs.

Vision Problem vs. Learning Behaviour

Vision problems are sometimes masked as learning difficulties or behavioural issues. If you suspect your child to have a learning disability or behaviour problems, we will carefully assess them in order to rule out vision as a possible contributory factor.

Holistic Approach to Eyecare

We focus on looking at everything as a whole to ensure that your child’s visual abilities function as well as possible, to prevent eye and vision problems from developing or deteriorating and to provide treatment for vision problems that have already developed.

Does your child have red, itchy, watery or swollen eyes?

Does your child have red, itchy, watery or swollen eyes?