When’s the right age for your child to have an eye test? What about wearing lenses or sunglasses? Share your thoughts with Specsavers - you could win £250 NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

Back in November, Specsavers commissioned a survey of MNers with a child aged 2 to 12 to find out what age parents thought children should have their first eye test.

The average age given by MNers was 3. Specsavers advises children have their first eye test at age 3 – because "Learning difficulties can sometimes be caused by uncorrected vision problems, so the earlier they can be detected, the better the chance of correcting them" say Specsavers.

The average age given by MNers was 15 for first wearing contact lenses – in fact Specsavers say they can be worn from age 10 - "we often find children quickly enjoy the many benefits of wearing contacts from a young age."

And for sunglasses – MNers thought they should be worn on sunny days from age 2 – Specavers says "many people aren't aware of the dangers UV rays can have on the health of your eyes - we'd recommend all children wear sunglasses on a sunny day!"

Please share your thoughts on the above on this thread - would you let your pre-teen have contacts, have you taken your school aged child for an eye test and how do you keep sunnies on your toddler when they are having fun in the sun!?

Add your thoughts to this thread and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £250 voucher from here

Please note Specsavers may use your comments - anon of course - on their pages on MN, on their social media or possibly elsewhere - please only post if you're happy with this.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

All of my children had their first eye tests in reception, they never showed any signs of needing one any sooner! Thankfully they have all been fine x

my middle son was 18 months old when he took part in a university eye project, my daughter on the other hand was around 5 when we realised she couldn't see properly & it turned out she has a congenital eye defect so I think they should be tested as soonas they are old enough to answer questions about what they can see

Both mine had one when they were 3 - turned out my DS needed glasses.

Daughter, 13 has worn ortho-K overnight lenses since 11 for shortsightedness. No problems with them (she complains occasionally if she's tired) and her myopia hasn't got worse, unlike friends' children who wear glasses.

one had a squint so treated from age 3, others were tested at school age 4 or 5
we tried contacts age 10 - disaster
he since refused to wear glasses
had him tested recently and his eyes are fine so they corrected themselves after he stopped wearing glasses
kids wont wear sunnies. i insisted when they were little. i wear them march to october!

My daughters both had eye tests before starting school and have carried on having them every year since. Neither need glasses, both wear sunglasses, if they needed glasses i would also get them prescription sun glasses

We had my little boys eyes tested at 3 because of a reoccurring problem. I think if you notice anything at all before their school test then you should get them checked as soon as possible. Three years later and my son doesn't need his specs anymore. Wish I didn't!!!

My eldest son had his first eye test at 4 1/2, we took him on a whim really. It turned out he had very poor vision. We hadn't noticed anything was amiss, nor had any family or his teachers. He just knew no different and learnt to cope like that. 3 years on, his eyes are alot better but will always need glasses. He loves wearing his glasses, and he also wears sunglasses in the summer.
I can't imagine him using contacts in 3 years time, but if the option is there i would suggest it.

Following the above, i planned to take my youngest to the optician when he was 3. But due to eldests problems, ds2 got automatic referal to the hospital to get checked.

I think it's really important for children to have their eyes tested as soon as possible as they will get used to wearing glasses, and of course seeing clearly!

I took my children for eyesight tests from the age of 4. I am unsure about contact lenses maybe 12-14 :)

I think children should get their eyes tested as ealry as it's sensible to do so. I still remember getting my first specs at about 5 or 6 and being comforted by my teacher as I hated them! It's different now as there are so many fun and cute designs.

My children's school have an optician come in and test their eyes in reception. I am going to take both of my children for an eye test at my opticians before the end of this year. I definitely agree with wearing sunglasses at all ages - my children have worn sunglasses & sun hats since they were tiny. I don't have many great tips for helping babies keep them on though - I just had to keep putting them back on when they took them off, like with their socks!

I kept 'a close eye' on my DCs vision by checking quite regularly if they could see ok. When they couldn't see a character of a certain size at a distance it was straight off to the optician! Both of mine needed glasses to correct short sightedness & they took to glasses easily.
I'm not a fan of contact lenses as they can be risky for hygiene reasons, and prefer glasses as they can stop flying objects some of the time.
Have always had sunglasses around for the DCs to wear and let them decide when they want them, making sure they know NOT to look at the sun.
Thankfully their vision hasn't changed quickly & I have a hubby who can mend broken frames sometimes!

There is history of glass wearing in our family, so we took DS as soon as possible which was two and have regular checkups. Eye tests highlight potential problems as well so with this in mind we try to take regular eye tests.

As for sunglasses these are more of fashion accessory in our household

My son never got tested until he was about 8 and he is long sighted. It would hvae been better to get it picked up earlier. The hard part is getting him to wear his glasses

I don't think contact lenses are suitable for any ages below 12. As a lense wearer myself, I can understand the benefits and practicalities of them, but on the whole I believe it's mostly about aesthetics. Children shouldn't be concerned with how they look in terms of wanting to wear contact lenses, they should be taught to be proud of their glasses!

Age of 3 seems to be the right way to go

My children have never had an eye test, but I think it should be something that is obligatory at school age, so any problems can be found and dealt with at an early age.

I took my son for his first when he was 6 as he had a test in school when he was 5.

My son has a very mild prescription for short sight and I had no concerns about his eyesight until he started secondary school at 11. He only wears glasses occasionally for TV viewing, etc. I probably didn't take either child for an eye test as early as I should have done, but would have done if they had complained of headaches, trouble with reading or struggled to see the blackboard (or white boards as they are now!) at school or if there was a strong family history. I imagined a child had to be old enough to communicate properly to get an accurate eye test result and therefore testing them too young might not be helpful.

I can't see either of then coping with the faff of contact lenses. Perhaps if their sight was particularly poor, or they were keen on sports they might want to give them a try. Age 10 seems a bit young to me.

Both children wear good quality (non prescription) sunglasses in the summer to protect their eyes.

i have worn glasses since i was 5 so have taken my boys at age 4 to be tested so far out of my 5 children only two have needed glasses for close up work .not sure about contacts glasses can be very cool now so i dont think its a big deal to need them.

I would recommend to go with a child even if there are no signs of problems as early as 8 / 9 years, just to check how sitting at school looking at boards and computer screen is affecting their eye sight. I would not let under 12 wear contacts, I don't think it is safe.

As soon as they're able to understand the test! The earlier any sight difficulties are picked up, the better.

I'd say aged 3 is a good age but depends on the child, would actually like from the age of 2.
Contacts, I have no problem with it if the child can put them in and take care of them. I was 15 when I got my first contact lenses and it was a real big confidence boost.

My son had his first eye test a few months after turning 2. He'd just had his 2 year developmental review and I remarked to the health visitor that whilst I didn't think my son had problems with his sight, he is very clumsy and falls and trips over a lot, as if he is unaware of what is around him on the floor. More a problem with his spatial awareness rather than his eye sight. (It doesn't help that he often doesn't look where is walking/running and often gawks at the lights with his head up!) Anyway, he has a squint in his left eye and he has the next test on Monday when he'll be nearly 2.5. If you ever have any concerns about your child's eyes, have them tested! I wouldn't say there is ever a 'right' time to have their eyes tested.

My son has also just been diagnosed with autism. He never keeps hats on or hoods pulled up, so I don't know how we're going to keep sunglasses on when the sun comes out!!! (If anyone has any tips or advice, I'd be grateful!)