Pediatric Eye Care

Support your child’s highest potential.

Healthy vision is one of the most important components of your child’s wellness.

Vision develops rapidly starting at birth and is tied to many developmental milestones, such as hand-eye coordination and reading. In the long term, your child’s vision will impact how they learn, play, and interact with the world.

While there may be some obvious signs of visual disorders, many children may not show obvious symptoms or have any complaints at all. Vision screenings done at schools and pediatrician offices do not fully check everything that a qualified eye doctor will check during a comprehensive eye exam.

Schedule an appointment at Bright View Family Vision, and give your child the gift of clear vision.

Is your child having trouble seeing?

It is not always easy to spot vision problems in kids.

Some symptoms are more obvious, like squinting or holding reading materials very close. But often the early signs are subtle and can even be misdiagnosed.

Your child may be experiencing a vision problem if he or she does any of the following:

• Avoids reading and close-up work like coloring or doing puzzles
• Seems to work slowly or not understand the task
• Complains of fatigue or headaches
• Has a short attention span or seems distracted
• Covers one eye or tilts head when focusing on something
• Shows sensitivity to light
• Exhibits difficulty with coordination

Common eye disorders in children

Vision can be affected by many things, including the shape of the eyeball, how the eyes and brain work together, and by other diseases or medical conditions. The good news is that many eye disorders can be successfully identified and treated.

The most common eye disorders are caused by the shape and alignment of the eyes, including:

Strabismus is when the eyes do not align properly. This is may manifest as “crossed eyes,” or having one or both eyes turn outward. Sometimes this results in amblyopia.

Amblyopia is poor vision in one eye, and is sometimes referred to as “lazy eye.” It usually occurs before the age of eight. Many children with amblyopia have no symptoms. If left untreated, this can result in permanent weaker vision in the affected eye. However, if detected and treated when young, many times it can be reversed or greatly reduced. Infants born prematurely or with low birth weight are at greater risk.

Refractive errors cause blurry images due to the shape of the eyeball or lens. These common conditions are easily treated with glasses or contact lenses. There are three types of refractive errors:

• Myopia or nearsightedness is good close vision but poor distance vision.
• Hyperopia or farsightedness is poor up-close vision. Distant objects can easily be seen.
• Astigmatism is “shadowy” imperfect vision at any distance.

Eye exam schedule for kids

Routine eye exams are a crucial part of your child’s well being and readiness for learning. Many parents do not know that school screenings are not the same as eye exams. Even with 20/20 vision, your child can still have problems that only an eye doctor can detect.

Newborns have their eyes checked before leaving the hospital. And leading medical organizations recommend comprehensive eye exams for health, vision development, and alignment at these ages:

• Between 6 and 12 months
• 3 years of age
• At least every other year throughout the school years

Support your child’s highest potential — schedule an appointment at Bright View Family Vision today.