A pediatric eye exam is a comprehensive assessment of a child’s vision and eye health. These exams are important for detecting possible vision problems early on, ensuring normal visual development, and addressing issues that could affect learning or daily activities.
Your Baby’s Very First Eye Exam
Your baby can undergo their first actual eye exam when they are six months old. Their eye doctor will check for some of the following conditions:
- Eye teaming
- An ability to focus their eyes
- Astigmatism, farsightedness, or nearsightedness
- Cataracts
Baby’s First Complete Eye Exam
Your little one’s next eye exam should take place when they are no later than four years old. It is at this age that your child can give more useful answers, which can help out our professionals better understand how they are seeing. The eye charts we use in our office have pictures, numbers, and letters. Some of the other tests that our eye doctors can use on your child include:
- How your child sees colors
- Depth perception
- Visual acuity
Our professionals at Campus Eye Group will also determine whether your child has a misalignment of their eye, lazy eye, or congenital disorders. These conditions are not life-threatening and won’t drastically reduce your child’s vision. These tests are a precaution to ensure that your child doesn’t have a condition that needs the attention of an ophthalmologist.
Pediatric Eye Exams: What to Expect
Take your child to get an eye exam before they begin kindergarten. Less-than-great vision can negatively affect your child as they acclimate to the school environment. Some of the tests that your little one will undergo include the following:
- The health of their eyes
- Proper eye alignment
- Visual acuity
What You Can Expect Before the Pediatric Eye Exam
Take note of the issues that your ophthalmologist brings to your attention concerning your child’s eye health. It’s difficult to diagnose eye issues in really young children. Take note if your child squints, holds their books and toys either farther away or close to their person, or talks about frequent headaches. We’ll perform a comprehensive exam and determine the issue at hand.
Preparing Your Child for Their Eye Exam
Telling your child what to expect from their eye exam lessens the stress that they might feel during a new experience. Use language that your child understands to tell them about the entire process.
Our staff ophthalmologist does our pediatric eye exams. Our ophthalmologist and staff can help make the eye exam process easy and stress-free. They work so that your child understands everything that happens throughout the exam.
How Long are Pediatric Eye Exams?
How long a pediatric eye exam lasts depends on your child’s eye health, the tests that need to be performed, and their needs. After the exam, our ophthalmologist will discuss their treatment plan with you. Most pediatric eye health exams will last up to 90 minutes, depending on the depth of your child’s eye health.
What Comprises a Pediatric Eye Exam?
Our ophthalmologist will consider both your child’s visual acuity and eye health when developing a treatment plan. Depending on their age, they may need to read an eye chart with letters, numbers, pictures, or a combination of the three. Some of the conditions that our staff will look for include the following:
- Crossed eyes
- Farsightedness
- Focusing skills
- Lazy eye
- Other eye health issues
During the exam, our ophthalmologist will check for eye diseases like the following:
While these diseases are mostly seen in older adults, they can occur in children. In these circumstances, early treatment of the disease is vital. At this time, the tissue and muscles around your child’s eye are tested to make sure their eyes track objects as they should. Some other issues that your ophthalmologist will look for are visual acuity problems and your child’s ability to see different colors.
Are These Eye Exams Safe for My Child?
Our staff are experts when it comes to putting children of all ages at ease when they’re in our office. The tools that our staff use to check your child’s eyes are safe and pose no risk to your child’s eyes.
We might need to put eye drops in your child’s eyes to dilate them. While your child may experience a bit of discomfort at first, eventually, their eyes will return to their natural state.
Does My Child Really Need Regular Eye Exams? They Seem Fine
If your child has visual acuity issues, it might not get caught until your child goes to get an eye exam. Your children should get eye exams once a year, even if they seem fine. Those with children with no visual problems can get away with an exam every 2 to 3 years. Children and teens who wear either glasses or contact lenses should get an exam on a yearly basis.
How do I Know if My Child Has Issues with Their Vision?
Signs that your child may have issues with their vision include:
- Clumsiness
- Frequent headaches
- Holding objects close to their face
- Losing their place when they read a book
- Sitting really close to your television
These conditions may not necessarily act as proof that your child deals with vision issues. They could be signs of other medical problems. Or it could be another reason altogether. Coming to Campus Eye Group for an exam can be the solution to figuring out where exactly the problem lies.
Campus Eye Group Pediatric Services include:
At Campus Eye Group, we are proud to offer a wide range of pediatric services including the following:
- Eyeglasses for children of all ages (even infants)
- Correction of eye alignment issues
- Contact lenses for children
- Surgical options for certain conditions
Schedule Your Appointment
Healthy vision is crucial for children because it plays a significant role in their overall development, learning, and well-being. Contact our experts in Hamilton, NJ, today to schedule a consultation for your child’s eye exam.
Dr. Joshi and her team provided a great first optometrist visit for my 6 yo. Front desk staff were responsive and helpful from booking to reception and were friendly and communicative throughout our exam. Dr. Joshi herself was warm, patient, explained things clearly and asked several times if we had any questions- she clearly cares about her patients well-being.
We’ve seen Dr. Lavrich as well and she’s not only an outstanding surgeon but a kind and compassionate practitioner. I trust this practice with my family’s care. Thank you!
– Jane T.
OUR TEAM
Our professional staff is comprised of both consulting board-certified ophthalmologists and therapeutically certified optometrists who deliver the highest quality of eye care, innovative medical and surgical care, ensuring that our patients are provided with the most innovative solutions for maintaining, enhancing, or preserving their sight.
State-of-the-art technology combined with a courteous and informed staff creates the perfect setting for all your vision and eye health needs from comprehensive eye exams to treatment for rare eye diseases.
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