When Should You Schedule Your Child’s First Eye Exam?

As a parent, you may wonder whether your preschooler has a vision problem or when you should schedule your child’s first eye exam.

5 to 10 percent of preschoolers and 25 percent of school-aged children have vision problems.*  Early identification of a child’s vision problem can be crucial because children often are more responsive to treatment when problems are diagnosed early.

According to the American Optometric Association, infants should have their first comprehensive eye exam at 6 months of age.  Babies should be able to see as well as adults in terms of focusing ability, color vision and depth perception by 6 months.

 

 

*Vision impairment occurs in 5 to 10 percent of all pre-school age children, according to the May 2004 issue of Annals of Family Medicine; The American Optometric Association (AOA) says 25 percent of all school-age children have vision problems.