As parents, we tend to study our babies' eyes. They're wonderful portals to interpreting pre-verbal emotions and general state of being.Well, it turns out parents aren't the only people who should be looking into those beautiful eyes.
Eye professionals recommend that children have eye exams at 6 months, 2 years, and 4 years. And that first year of life exam is offered free to children in the US (regardless of income) through a program called InfantSEE.
When Jim was young his lazy eye went undiagnosed. The consequences of this missed diagnosis can be total loss of vision in the affected eye in adulthood.
We're taking our son for early vision screening so we don't repeat this mistake.
It turns out that 1 out of 10 children is at risk for undiagnosed eye and vision problems.
Keep those eyes as healthy as they are beautiful- visit an InfantSEE participating optometrist for a free evaluation between 6 and 12 months.
5 comments:
I did this and thought it was great: http://www.rookiemoms.com/vision/
http://www.rookiemoms.com/vision/
Heather-
The evaluation sounds like something my son and I both could enjoy!
Thanks!
The program is a bunch of bullsh*t. Developed by young, poor entrepreneurial optometrists as a way to generate future patient visits (when your child really does need to go to an optometrist), it's a waste of time for anyone to have their infant subjected to undue examination and uncomfortable pupil dilation. Babies' vision are always changing, and characteristically hyperic, so why try to find out if screaming little Abbie is myopic? Amblyopia and other conditions are easily detectable in routine pediatric visits.
The "free" visit is just a way for you to remember them when it's time to get your 4 year old's vision tested. It's a waste of your time.
anonymous: It's okay not to take this opportunity, but the optometrist was able to check our son for lazy eye (an inherited condition). This is really valuable to our family as Jim's lazy eye went undiagnosed in childhood and he'll have lifelong vision problems as a result.
Your family may not have a history of eye problems, so you may not have such concerns.
We were given a choice about pupil dilation, and our son enjoyed the appointment overall (blinking toys and lots of attention).
anonymous@6:36pm,
I'll add that my parents did take me to pediatricians who failed to diagnose my problem during a time that it could have been corrected.
Instead, we found out that I had vision problems after those problems contributed to an accident that could have cost my vision in one eye.
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