Children and eyesight

Their eyes are growing, and their eyesight only fully develops by the age of 6-8. Regular eye examinations have a preventative function, as deviations from normal eyesight that are discovered early are more likely to be able to be rectified before a child starts school.

Sufficient clarity in vision is necessary to cope in school and participate in hobbies and everyday activities. It is recommended to visit an eye doctor when your child is 6 months old, 3 years old and then right before starting school. If everything is OK and your child does not experience any changes once they start school, then from that time on, eye examinations should take place every two years. In Estonia, children are usually examined by doctors; optometrists examine fully developed eyesight or issue ongoing prescriptions for glasses. For your child’s first exam, we recommend seeing an eye doctor.

The most common visual problems among children are crossed eyes (strabismus), lazy eyes (amblyopia), farsightedness (hyperopia) short-sightedness (myopia) and astigmatism.

In the case of strabismus the eyes are not straight, which means that one or both of the eyes have diverged from the centre. This is caused by imbalanced muscles or a vision impairment (far- or short-sightedness). This may be natural before your child reaches three months of age because the muscles that move the eyes are still weak and the child is not yet able to focus their gaze. If their eyes are constantly crossed, you should see a doctor. Glasses, surgery or eye exercises are used to cure strabismus.

Amblyopia refers to unclear vision in one or both eyes that cannot be adjusted with glasses once eyesight has fully developed. However, treatment is more effective if the lack of visual clarity or abnormalities in how the eyes work together are discovered while your child’s eyes are still in the development stages, i.e. before the age of 7. Amblyopia may be congenital, and it arises due to insufficient visual stimulation when the eye is developing because there no clear image forms on the retina or its appearance is interfered with (by strabismus, congenital glaucoma, an eye tumour or abnormalities in the retina). Glasses, covering one eye or surgery can be prescribed as treatment.

Farsightedness, short-sightedness and astigmatism mean vision is unclear when looking close or far away. The reason for this is the disparity between the size of the eye and how light is diffracted. If the eye is anatomically healthy, it is considered a quirk of the eye and not a medical condition, and the issue is resolved by prescribing glasses.

Children react differently to glasses: some are very happy to get them, while others feel insecure. Therefore your child should be encouraged and you should be patient with them, because wearing the glasses is necessary for the sake of their health. When choosing glasses for your child, consideration should be given to well-fitting frames, since a child’s nose is flatter and the glasses will not sit as firmly. Particularly flexible frames and frames with arms that fasten behind the ears are also designed for smaller children. We recommend choosing plastic spectacle lenses as they are lighter and shatterproof and therefore more comfortable and safe for children. For active or athletic children we recommend lenses made from trivex which are unbreakable and shockproof, thus guaranteeing eye safety in even the most extreme situations.

Sometimes poor academic performance can be related to eyesight. A child with problematic eyes may not be interested in books, pictures and studying and may seem listless. In addition, watching TV or reading books up close can be a sign of visual impairment.

In our stores you will find a wide variety of frames for both boys and girls. Our customers say we have the best choice of children’s frames available.