Your child’s vision and eye health play a major role in their development. They affect how their performance at school and in play. Regular visits to the eye doctor can keep you track of your child’s eye health. It also helps in the early detection and treatment of different refractive errors.

Here’s what you can expect during a pediatric eye exam.

Pediatric Eye Exams Vary Depending on Your Child’s Age

The tests performed during pediatric eye exams vary depending on the age of your child, their needs, and how well they can express themselves. For instance, eye exams for infants and toddlers will use a more objective approach. On the other hand, eye exams for teenagers will involve obtaining subjective information.

During the eye exam, your optometrist will assess three elements. Your eye doctor will check if your child’s eyes are healthy, assess their vision, and make sure they have functional vision.

Things to Expect During Your Child’s Visit to the Eye Doctor

Infants

Usually, eye exams for infants focus on assessing their acuity and fixation, eye alignment, eye pressure, and eye coordination. Expect the eye doctor to look for signs of eye diseases and refractive errors. They will also check the front and back tissue of your child’s eye.

Late Toddlers and Pre-Teens

Once your child starts school, their eye exams will involve subject measurements. The eye doctor will also pay more attention to their functional vision in school. Their eyes will be checked for eye health problems and refractive errors, such as farsightedness and nearsightedness. Another thing that the eye care specialist will assess is your child’s color vision.

Eye Exams for Teenagers

As your child grows older, their visual demands increase as they participate in extracurricular activities and use digital devices. Detecting vision problems that require prescription glasses can be easier with subjective vision tests. Your teenage child’s eye exam may include tests for subjective refraction, color vision, eye alignment, and depth perception. The eye doctor will also conduct a general eye health examination.

Let Spectrum Eye Care handle your family’s vision and eye care needs. We also help determine if you are a good candidate for LASIK eye surgery. Give us a call at (704) 543-9000 or fill out our request form to schedule an appointment.