Children's Eyes

By identifying vision problems at an early age, we can treat and prevent future eye conditions for young children.

Did you know that nearly 25% of school-age children have vision problems?

Despite the fact that yearly eye exams are covered by OHIP for children up to 20 years old, many preschool and school age children are not receiving adequate professional eye and vision care.

The earlier a vision problem is diagnosed and treated, the less negative impact it will have on a child’s development. Undetected and untreated vision problems can interfere with a child’s learning, participation in sports and other childhood activities.

Did you know that nearly 25% of school-age children have vision problems?

Despite the fact that yearly eye exams are covered by OHIP for children up to 20 years old, many preschool and school age children are not receiving adequate professional eye and vision care.

Understanding

Children's Eyes

What's Included

At Merivale Vision Care, we are equipped to examine infants and school age children. We ensure kids feel comfortable and have a great experience! Our eye and vision examinations of a pre-school child include the following:

Patient and family history
Visual acuity measurement
Assessment of refractive status
Evaluation of ocular motility, binocular vision and accommodative function
Ocular health examination
Optomap imaging is offered at a reduced fee for children ages 7 to 19
When appropriate, supplemental testing of visual perceptual development may be provided

What to expect at the exam.

We see many children at our clinic and often schedule entire families together. Here is a list of what to expect at the exam:

The optometrist will have your child look at different pictures, letters or numbers, and may be asked to wear “silly” glasses during the various tests.
The optometrist will use special lights to look at their eyes.
Seeing the optometrist does not mean they are necessarily getting glasses.
Sometimes drops are required, the reasons would be discussed with the parents, and often a second visit is scheduled when drops are needed.

Good to know before your appointment.

To ensure your family has the best experience during your appointment, here are a few tips to review before your child's exam:

If two children are being checked, it is great for the older sibling to go first.
Smaller children are welcome to sit on their parent’s lap during their eye exam.
Children are welcome to watch a movie while the optometrist looks in their eyes with lights.

Myopia Progression: What Can We Do?

What is Myopia?

Myopia is a common visual condition known as nearsightedness that prevents children from seeing clearly in the distance without glasses. Myopic prescriptions have a minus (-) power in them. Childhood myopia tends to get worse over time and may be associated with early onset cataracts, glaucoma, and retinal complications. There is lots we can do to help prevent some of these harmful eye conditions.

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Lifelong Eye Health

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Screen Time and Your Childs' Eyes

The Canadian Guideline for screen time recommends:

No screen time 1 hour before bed
Outdoor time minimum 1 hour/day

Time guidelines are as follows:

For children under 2 years old, screen time is not recommended (they do not learn from it). The exception is video chatting with caring adults, such as extended family.*
For children 2 to 5 years old, limit routine or sedentary screen time to about an hour or less per day.*

^{*Canadian Paediatric Society, 2022}

What Can We Do?‍

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1. MiSight Soft Contacts

These are soft contact lenses that are worn while awake at least 6 days a week for 12 hours per day. They have been shown to reduce the rate of myopia progression by ~59%.
Age: 8+ or sooner if child seems able/keen to do CLs. Benefits have been shown up to age 12.
These contact lenses are available in certain prescriptions only.
More info: https://coopervision.ca/contact-lenses/misight1day

2. Eye Drops

We can use a once a day eye drop (usually instilled before bed) which has been shown to reduce the rate of myopia progression by ~50%.
Age: no specific limit, has been used as young as 4 years
May require sun wear depending on iris color.

3. Glasses

MiyoSmart 60% reduction in progression
Age: 7-13

4. Ortho K Contacts

These are hard contact lenses that your child will wear while sleeping only that have been shown to slow the progression of myopia by 50 to 60%.
Age: 6+ but possibly younger if parents motivated.
These contacts are available in certain prescriptions only.

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