A child needs many abilities to succeed in school. Good vision is a key. It has been estimated that as much as 80% of the learning a child does, occurs through his or her eyes. Good vision is vital to a child’s ability to read, concentrate and understand. Many learning problems can be associated with even minor eye defects. That’s why regular eye examinations are essential to helping your child focusing at school. In education, there is now a greater emphasis on studies using a computer, which place a burden on the visual system, further increasing the importance of an Eye Examination.

Eye examinations are free for children under the age of 16 and free for students under the age of 19 as long as they are in full time education. If glasses are required a voucher from the NHS is issued towards the cost of the spectacle lenses.

Toddlers, schoolchildren and students under 19 should be examined every 12 months. Regular eye examinations are essential to ensure that their eyes are equipped to receive visual information accurately, comfortably and safely.

Children do not have to be able to read letters to have an eye examination!

The eyes grow and develop throughout childhood; therefore, it is important for children to have an eye examination when they are as young as possible and then regularly thereafter.

We recommend that all children have regular eye examinations.

Even if you think your child’s eyes are developing normally it is very important to have them checked from a young age.

There can be warning signs that your child is having difficulty with their vision and would benefit from an eye examination:

• Frequent eye rubbing or blinking
• Short attention span
• Avoiding reading and other close activities
• Frequent headaches
• Covering one eye
• Tilting the head to one side
• Holding reading materials close to the face
• An eye turning in or out
• Seeing double
• Losing place when reading
• Difficulty remembering what he or she read

Mr Pramod-Ray Patel always makes the eye examination fun, easy and interesting for your child. Mr Patel has been a Consulting Paediatric Optometrist at the Sheffield Children’s Hospital, for 20 years. He knows that every child is different so he tailors each eye examination specifically to your child’s needs.

All examinations will include looking at the back of the eye to make sure their eyes are healthy (often eye drops are required to allow for a more conclusive examination of the back of the eye) and a check to see if glasses are required to improve their eyesight. Children do not even need to talk to us or be able to read to get an accurate result.