In England Children’s Eye tests are free*.
- Most children are born with physically full-formed eyes and functioning visual pathways but the mental links that will allow them to ‘see’ and make sense of their world take time to develop.
- If a child’s vision is impaired at all during their childhood then it can have potentially damaging effects on how they learn and perceive the world.
- Children who have impaired vision, that can not be corrected with spectacles or contact lenses, need support by professionals to learn their own ways of making sense of the world around them.
- Children under the age of 10 are constantly learning new things about their world. For this age group the boundaries of their world are limited by their school and family and as they use their eyes to learn about this local environment their visual systems are forming new links all the time.
* The NHS pays Optometrists to test the sight of children of all ages, and reimburses opticians the cost or at least a proportion of the cost of a basic pair of spectacles and lenses. However if you and your child prefer more robust or designer frames and want better lenses then they can be bought – but please remember just as your child’s shoes need replacing regularly as their feet grow their glasses will need regular replacement,