Your Tulsa Pediatric Eye Doctor Shares the Importance Of Tulsa Child Eye Exams

Your Tulsa Pediatric Eye Doctor Shares the Importance Of Tulsa Child Eye ExamsTulsa pediatric eye doctor at Harrel Eyecare provides tulsa children eye exams for optimal child eye development. Meet our tulsa pediatric optometrist today

As your Tulsa pediatric eye doctor, our team at Harrel Eyecare is here to serve you and your family with all your eye and vision care needs. If you have a young child, it’s important that you establish an eyecare routine early on; this way, you can make sure your child’s ever-changing eyes and vision are properly cared for throughout life. One of the many eyecare services we’re proud to provide here in our office is that of child eye exams.

The Importance of Child Eye Exams 

So, why are child eye exams so important? For starters, your child’s eyes are constantly growing and developing from a very young age. For this reason alone, regular eye exams are a must for monitoring the growth and development of your child’s eyes and making sure that everything is developing as it should. Comprehensive eye and vision exams can reveal small signs of problems that could otherwise go undetected for years. And by catching problems early, we have a much better chance of being able to treat them successfully. Unfortunately, about one in four children has an undetected vision problem of some kind; we believe that if more children had eye exams done from an early age, we could better detect and manage these eye problems.

In addition to diagnosing and treating ocular conditions, regular eye exams will help ensure that your child has the right vision prescription. This becomes especially important as your child begins school, as poor eyesight can have a negative effect on your child’s performance in the classroom. And all too often, children don’t notice changes in their vision or don’t know how to communicate these with parents.

Tulsa Eye Exams for Kids with our Tulsa Optometrist: When and How Often?

Many parents don’t realize that Tulsa eye exams for kids are recommended starting as early as six months of age. From there, the American Optometric Association (AOA) recommends additional eye exams at three years old, and again before children start kindergarten. Once in grade school, comprehensive annual eye exams are strongly encouraged.

In between eye exams, there are also some potential signs of eye and vision problems that parents should be on the lookout for and address to the child’s eye doctor. These include:

  • persistent eye rubbing
  • red, watery eyes
  • sensitivity to light
  • squinting and straining to see

These could be symptoms of eye conditions such as dry eye, conjunctivitis, or simply the need for an updated vision prescription. An eye doctor will be able to determine the cause and treat as needed.

What to Expect From a Child Eye Exam In Tulsa

Many parents are curious as to what they should expect from a child’s first eye exam. In reality, children’s eye exams typically aren’t much different from an adult exam. Each exam will involve:

  • vision acuity testing
  • pupil tests
  • eye movement tests

Of course, a physical examination of the eye will also be done to be on the lookout for any potential problems. Follow-up or diagnostic testing may also be performed as needed, though only with your permission first.

Request an Appointment for Your Tulsa Child Eye Exam Today

If your child is due for an eye exam or if you have concerns about your child’s eye and vision health, please don’t delay scheduling an appointment with Harrel Eyecare. Give our office a call at (918) 745-9662 today and we’d be happy to get you in as soon as possible.