When to Check Your Child's Vision

Many parents have wondered how we check vision on young children. Some even think we must be guessing at their child’s visual performance. When adults think of measuring visual performance, they usually remember reading letters or symbols on an eye chart.

For adults and older children, measuring visual acuity on an eye chart is usually fairly straightforward and accurate. However, for infants, toddlers, and pre-reading preschoolers, it is more challenging. At school age, most children can participate in testing on an eye chart. The goal is to identify children with vision issues, whether they are medical eye issues or just a need for glasses.

Newborns

For newborns, vision is still fairly blurry, and we mostly note whether the infant reacts to bright lights and ensures there are no structural problems with the eye. Over the first few months of life, we start to watch for other clues of normal vision development. A newborn’s brain is programmed to fixate (look directly) at their mother’s face and then other faces early, so observing this is a good sign. Infants will later start fixating on other objects of interest around them, such as toys, lights, etc. We will note how well they “fix and follow” with each eye.

Infants

Most infants see fairly normal signs by 6 months of age, though, of course, we aren’t able to measure this on an eye chart yet. The most important assessment of vision during the early months and years is whether vision develops equally between both eyes. This can be checked by doing a prism test in the office that makes the child see double when looking at a target toy or other object and observing whether they will choose to use the eyes equally or always favor one over the other.

Preschool

For preschool-aged children, often around the age of 3, we can start to truly measure visual acuity by doing matching games on the eye chart with either symbols or letters. By using easily recognizable letters and matching, even children who do not yet know their letters can participate. If this testing is done carefully and correctly, the measured vision on the eye chart is actually quite accurate. Don’t worry if your young child does not measure 20/20 on the eye chart immediately. They could still be in the normal range for their age and will continue to improve over time. Ask your eye doctor if you aren’t sure or are worried about their vision testing results. Thereafter, by early grade school, things get easier, and most children are able to cooperate and help us accurately measure their vision.

To schedule an appointment, call (509) 456-0107