I wear glasses because I’m cross-eyed. I’ve had a lazy eye my entire life, it was first noticed when I was in kindergarten / Grade 1. If it had been caught earlier, I might not be wearing glasses today. Because of the bad signal my left eye was sending my brain, my brain learned to ignore that signal and over compensate by relying on my right eye for more information.
So I wear glasses because I have a neurological issue. It’s not anything that could be fixed with laser eye surgery. I’m stuck with corrective lenses.
This week we took Charlie for his first eye exam. We didn’t think there were any issues, but getting your kids’ eyes checked is still an important thing to do. We thought we were on track with getting his eyes checked at 4. We were wrong. You should be getting your kids’ eyes checked at TWO.
Dr Dan at Iris didn’t find anything wrong with Charlie (or Patch), but did lament that not enough people know to get their kids eye exam early. Our family doctors have never brought up eye health with either of the boys, so it was never anything I really paid attention to.
We know the vaccination routine. We know to go to the dentist once they start popping up. You need to do the same thing with eyes.
If kids get their eyes checked before 2, when a lot of the brain/eye communication is being formed, some problems (like the one I had) can be caught and fixed. Wait too long (like I did) and you’re stuck with the problems for life.
In Canada, eye exams are free for kids under 19. You should get that first check when they’re toddlers, and then every year once they are school-aged.
It’s an easy 20-30 minute exam that had Charlie laughing at the big goofy equipment and spying ducks and identifying letters on the wall.
So after I was checked for some prescription SPY glasses with Happy Lenses, and Charlie had his exam, we tossed Zacharie in for an updated look.
Good news, everyone’s got great vision. Except me.
When was the last time your kids got their eye exams?
Did you have them checked before 2?