Children’s eyes change a lot as they grow, so it’s important to keep one step ahead of any vision concerns.
80% of our learning is visual, so if your child is having trouble seeing, it can affect their ability to learn, and impact their behavioural and fine motor skills.
The Canadian Association of Optometrists recommends the following examination guidelines:
Infants should undergo their first eye exam between the ages of 6 and 9 months old. At this stage, the examination is relatively simple: we need to ensure these young eyes are developing as they should, and there are no outright concerns with eye health, eye-hand coordination, focus, or tracking.
The preschool years are a time of rapid eye growth. The second eye examination should occur between the ages of 2 and 5, where we will recheck your child’s eye health, focusing, binocular vision, and tracking movements. We will also look for other visual clues and for signs of amblyopia (lazy eye) or strabismus (crossed-eyes), which can often appear at this age.
From the ages of 5 to 18, your optometrist will conduct more rigorous testing and check for any visual acuity or prescription changes. At age 5, we recommend commencing an annual eye exam schedule for your child. At this age, myopia becomes more prevalent, as well as other issues in which vision therapy may be able to help with.
If your child is experiencing developmental delays, was born prematurely, has had a previous eye injury, or has a serious family history of eye disease, we may recommend a more frequent exam schedule.
Our brand-new clinic is located in River Heights, on the south side of the beautiful Bow River. You’ll find us across the highway from the Community of Fireside, beside Cochrane Dodge.
River Heights Eye Care
