5 Tips to Help Promote Eye Health and Better Vision in Children

Many adults are aware of common eye conditions that come with age, like macular degeneration, or with illness, such as diabetic retinopathy. So why is there a disconnect in understanding that healthy vision and eyes start when we are young? Getting parents to schedule an eye exam for their young kids can sometimes be a struggle. They may not understand at what age eye exams should start or what conditions commonly develop in children. In this article, we’ll take a look at some tips to help you talk to parents about the importance of scheduling an eye exam for their children. 

1 | Know Your Facts

Let’s do a little refresher on eye exam recommendations for kids and the common eye conditions they can develop. Knowing your facts can help you better speak to parents about the importance of pediatric eye exams. 

The American Optometric Association recommends that children receive their first eye exam when they are 6 to 12 months of age, or as recommended by their pediatrician. After that initial exam, a child should receive another exam at least once between ages 3 and 5 years old, then one more time before first grade. After that, all children ages 6 and up should get a comprehensive annual eye exam. 

As for conditions that can develop in childhood, they include:

• Nearsightedness
• Farsightedness
• Astigmatism
• Amblyopia (lazy eye)
• Strabismus (misaligned eyes)
• Ptosis (drooping eyelid)
• Blocked tear duct

Some less common but important conditions include:

• Retinoblastoma (eye tumor)
• Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)
• Nystagmus
• Congenital/Developmental cataracts 

2 | Stress that Healthy Eyes Means Academic Success

If parents are confused on why starting so young is crucial, remind them that kids can indeed develop poor vision due to refractive errors, lazy eye, and other common eye conditions. By checking for conditions and refractive errors early in life, parents can help set their child up for academic success! Healthy eyes means better vision and their child will be able to see the chalkboard and read books better with great vision. 

3 | Remind them Early Detection is Crucial

Many children don’t show signs of having poor vision or lazy eye. This is because kids are adaptive. If one eye doesn’t function well, they learn to adjust with the other one. So many parents won’t be able to tell if something is wrong. 

Pediatric eye exams are designed to look for these pediatric eye issues, and the earlier a problem is detected the sooner treatment can begin and the better the eye health outcomes for their child. This is because the key stage of neurodevelopment is from birth to age 8. At these ages, eyeglasses or an eye patch can correct many conditions and possibly prevent lasting ocular-neurodevelopment issues. 

4 | When to Talk to Parents

Talking to parents about the importance of pediatric eye exams is great anytime! But if you know one of your patients is expecting, be sure to have a conversation with them about the importance of starting eye exams in infancy. 

5 | Offer Free Services at Schools

There will always be parents who don’t heed the warnings on the importance of pediatric eye exams, as well as many families that just can’t afford the cost. So consider offering free eye exams at your local schools. Be sure to give a coupon for a reduction in service, especially to children who need further treatment. A diagnosis or a coupon can help spur parents into action or be able to afford additional treatment. But it can also be a great way to attract new loyal patients! 

Key Takeaways

Not all parents understand the importance of starting young with eye exams. The best any eye doctor can do is to stress the importance of starting young and how catching problems early leads to better treatment outcomes. And when all else fails, offer free eye exams at your local schools to help spur parents into more action.