How Often Do Children Need Eye Exams?

Video Transcript

The second question that usually comes up for a parent is, how often should I get my child an eye examination? That's actually a really tricky question. It's tricky for a few reasons. If you look at your insurance policy and your child is on your insurance you're going to notice that the company generally is only going to pay for an examination every twelve months. That is pretty unfortunate. Because, a child's prescription can actually change within six months of their original RX. A child could be, often times we see it here where a child's complaining that they can't see the board. They used to be able to see it with their glasses. But, now the teacher has moved them up to the front of the class. Because, they haven't been able to see it before. So, the answer is the child's prescription can change before that year is up. And, often times does. I would say between the ages of five and thirteen that prescription is changing fairly rapidly. And, parents shouldn't just rest on the hopes that their child's prescription is remaining the same for a twelve month cycle. It is unfortunate, that the insurance really thinks that a "one size fits all" your child's examination should be done every twelve months. It just doesn't work that way often times. So, I would recommend obviously one year is the rule of thumb for adults. If you're child is complaining about not being able to see. And, you think oh man I just had their examination less than a year ago. It really doesn't matter. The child could still be struggling. Because, their prescription just like those growth spurts that they have their vision could be changing. And, I think it's important obviously to their health of the child. But, also to things like scholastically, academically. If they're not able to see things properly, they're going to struggle. And, it's going to be not a pleasant experience for them. So, just be aware of what your child is telling you. And, that is going to be kind of your guideline as to when to bring them back into the optometrists office.

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