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Home › Articles › Toddler Health › Your Child's First Eye Appointment

Your Child's First Eye Appointment

When Should a Toddler See the Eye Doctor?

By Melinda Copp

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"The AOA guidelines for healthy children is for families to use primary care services of doctors of optometry at age 6 months, 3 years and by first grade or roughly age 6," says Scott A. Jens, chair of the InfantSEE Program committee. InfantSEE is a program that offers free comprehensive infant eye assessments to children in their first years of life.

"As a child grows, their eyes, visual motor skills and visual system change," says Elise Brisco, an optometrist in private practice in Los Angeles, Calif. "Since so much of learning is through the visual system, it is important to make sure your child's visual skills are age appropriate."

What Are the Warning Signs of Poor Vision?
Infants with normal eyes can develop eye wandering within the first few years of life. If you notice any changes in the appearance of your child's eyes, such as one eye drifting in or out, you should see the eye doctor as soon as possible. Redness, itching, swelling, discharge, eye crossing or wiggling, light sensitivity and decreased color or night vision are other warning signs that your toddler may have vision problems.

You may also notice some behavioral changes that indicate vision problems, such as excessive squinting, clumsiness, poor hand-eye coordination, covering or favoring one eye and dislike or avoidance of some visual tasks, like looking at picture books and coloring. If your child tilts or turns his head to one side, it may indicate an ocular muscle problem. And if your child rubs his eyes, blinks a lot or experiences frequent headaches, it could indicate astigmatism.

"Some toddlers have abnormal sight development and occasionally these problems can affect an infant's interest in exploring her environment, delaying critical activities like crawling or walking," Jens says. "Any delay of mobility or lack of interest in a toddler's environment should key a parent to scheduling a professional eye exam."


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