NOW CLOSED Do you have a child aged 3 - 12 years? Take part in a survey about children's eye tests for Specsavers - £250 John Lewis voucher to be won

[KatieBMumsnet]

We've be asked by Specsavers to find out what Mumsnetters' opinions are on children's eye tests.

The survey is open to all UK Mumsnetters with at least one child aged 3 - 12 years. It doesn't matter if your child wears glasses or has never been for an eye test, we'd like to hear from all of you.

To take part in the survey please click here.

Everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a £250 John Lewis voucher.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

[bebejones]

Done! Been thinking of taking DD (4.5) for a while now, so this has prompted me to get it booked!

[acrabadabra]

Done.

Pretty sure neither of mine (both under 4) have any issues atm. But a friends ds developed a squint around the age my dd is now so I am aware.

[scrappydappydoo]

Done. Both DDs had eye tests as part of their reception health screening thingy. I go every 2 years as I wear glasses but how often should I take dds if there aren't any obvious problems?

[chickensaladagain]

my dd2 wears glasses and has done since she was 3

at 3 she was happy to wear them, at 9 not so much and it's amazing how often she forgets them

her prescription isn't strong enough to warrant contacts though

my MIL told me when she first started wearing them that it would make her eyes worse, I told her she was talking bollocks well a bit more nicely than that

[ilovepowerhoop]

I think children are supposed to get their eyes checked annually

[Badvoc]

Some.
Ds2 has just been found to have some astigmatism, like me :(

[FannyBazaar]

I first took my DS for eye test when he was 6 to rule out any eyesight problems interfering with his struggling to learn to read. Close up fine, slight shortsightedness picked up, would never have been noticed without a test as only slight, now a specs wearer.

I paid for a private eye test to look in more detail for anything that might interfere with learning to read.

I was surprised to be told that I should have brought him in at 4 for an eye test as that's when they should be tested. I didn't know this. It's not mentioned in the instruction manual, just the dentist, which is mentioned all the time.

[CharlotteBronteSaurus]

done
dd1 wasn't picked up by reception screening, but her YR1 teacher noticed her squinting to read the board, which prompted us to take her for an eye test. She is thrilled to have glasses now.

[Haberdashery]

I don't think DD had an eye test in Reception. She is absolutely desperate to have glasses so I'm sure she would have told me. She is 6 and doesn't seem to have any problems with her vision. I do sort of informally test her a bit as I got glasses at 8 and am certain I'd had awful eyesight for a long time before that. I will probably take her for a test in the next year or so.

[ilovepowerhoop]

looks like adults and children should get their eyes tested at least every 2 years but may be annually if they have glasses. DD gets hers done annually but does have glasses for long sight.

www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/opticians/Pages/childrens-eyes.aspx

[montmartre]

Done- it's really, really important to get their eyes checked- loads of issues can be helped greatly if children get specs early enough.
My DC have had specs from age 6.2 and 3.2- in fact my youngest is on the cusp of being classed as visually impaired. We're lucky in the fact that we picked up his issues early, and he has 4 years or so to improve his vision before it's set for life (he's severely long-sighted).

Unfortunately the school vision tests are not very good at picking up long-sightedness. My DD's problems were completely missed by the in-school testing, but then no surprise as mine were too 30 years earlier!

Thankfully we knew the signs to look for, and managed to pick up on them.

[MrsDmitriTippensKrushnic]

Mine all had eyetests at around 3 (definitely preNursery) with an ophthalmologist at our local medical centre. It was done via our HV/GP due to mine and DHs generally crap sight! There weren't any drops involved though, it was all pretty fun and low-key. Because they were fine at those tests we didn't start regular Optician tests until they were older - around 5 or 6 iirc.

I knew my eyesight was bad from the age of 7, when I had a school test and couldn't read the letters clearly. However, the school didn't contact my parents and they thought I said I needed glasses because my best friend wore them I didn't get glasses until I was checked again at 10 after I started suffering from chronic migraines partly triggered by eyestrain. I wouldn't have benefited from wearing glasses earlier as I have an astigmatism, but it might have helped and it might have prevented me suffering through 6 months of awful migraines.

[BikeRunSki]

DH and I are both shortsighted, DH astigmatic too, so when DS started squinting when he was 2, I spoke to the health visitor. i was n't sure if he was trying to focus, or was just scowling, and DH was only 4 when he started wearing specs. HV referred us to the Community Opthamologist ? Orthoptist ?. It was pretty interesting what she did, and I was surprised what she could do with such a young child.

Although DS's eyesight was declared fine, they didn't tell me anything more about getting his eyes tested as he got older or anything. I have subsequently spoken to my optician about this. My health visitor told me all about weaning, dentists, shoe fitting, all sorts, so i am surprised that nothing has been mentioned at all about eye testing.

[momma39]

my children are a lot older so no i have not done it.
just wanted to say i took all my 3 daughters to specsavers from an early age they were brilliant with them all and now as adults they go there themselves.
every year to the opticians and twice a year to dentist.

[DorisIsWaiting]

Done

I didn't realise until DD2 got a dodgy result on her screening in Reception that I should have been taking them annually for a sight check. both the other dd's have been now.

It is so important to get them done before they are 8 when their vision problems become harder to 'fix'.

[piprabbit]

Done.

Just wanted to add that, although I have said that children need to be able to read to be tested I'm not 100% sure that is correct. However as an optician told me they had to be able read - that is the answer I've gone with.

[ilovepowerhoop]

dd first got her eyes tested at 18 months and couldnt read (obviously!). They used drops instead to assess her prescription. When she was a little older they used pictures instead of letters and they didnt use the letter charts until she knew her letters and was at school.

[MrsShrek3]

done

[Glitterfairys]

Survey done My eldest wears glasses and I wear contact lenses and I have had glasses from a young age.This has made me think that I should take my three year old and get his eyes checked out and that maybe he is not too young .

[Shattereddreams]

DH was in glasses at 7 but very very short sighted. Now fixed with laser. But this family history made me nervous about DD eyes
Different opticians have diff policies over testing, the first one I went to told me no tests till age 5 (just their policy, not the general policy of the high street) so I went to the GP and got her referred to hospital optician.

So embarrassing, she clocked the 'testing' age 3, got cheeky and told them what was on the pictures, then said, a smaller house/fish/car. An even smaller house/fish/car. A teeny tiny house/fish/car. so at 3 her sight was ok.

But by 4.5, she was in glasses and her sight is progressing shorter at about 1.00 per six months as she grows. She has a test every 6 months and new prescription each time.

the one thing I would change if I could, is the time it takes to make up kids glasses. Yes you get a free replacement pair if damaged, but a week to make? really? Not good enough. 48 hours please!

[ouryve]

I think the delay is in the lenses, shattered. Mine take a while to make because of the strength of the cylinder prescription I need. My longest wait was 3 weeks, with the shortest the 3 days my last varifocal lens replacement took, when one eye was found to need a stronger prescription than originally tested after just 3 months.. DS1's first sphere +0.75 pair took the obligatory hour. He's up to +1.5 now and we've waited all week.

[Cakethrow]

Done.

This has given me some food for thought.

[sleepyhead]

We're in Scotland so ds had his eyes tested as part of the screening programme at nursery (aged 4). He failed so was refered to the ophthalmology department at the local hospital where they tested him more thoroughly and were happy with his eyes.

He was slightly more long sighted (?) than they would have expected at his age so we were told he might need glasses when he was older, but we weren't told to get his eyes tested again.

I'd be interested in knowing what the recommended frequency was for eye tests. I guess because it's not part of an NHS programme, like dentists as someone said above, it's not really on my radar. I'd never dream of not taking him to the dentist.

[motherofvikings]

Done.
I haven't had ds' eyes checked yet as he is able to see far more than me! I will take him before he starts school though. I have worried for a while about colour blindness as DH has it but ds seems fine. :)

[InMySpareTime]

Done. Only school eye tests here, me included (30 years since my only eye test). I figure since I can read small print far away or teeny print close up my eyes are fine.
Same for DCs.