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

My son is almost 4 and has not had his eyes checked yet, it's on my to-do list. I think I would advise him to wear glasses if he had to until he is about 15, 10 seems too early.

DS had his first eye test at two and half, as I was going in for mine anyway.
I would have him in contact lenses as soon as he was ready/optician approved, as DH needed glasses from six-ish and it impacted how much sport he could do. So far, DS looks like he doesn't need eye help, but should he, I see no reason to delay contact lenses if they have been deemed safe/suitable.

DS has a good pair of sunglasses. Getting him to keep them on is hard, but we do what we can. (He is currently 4.)

I'd say at around 3 years old but younger if parents start to notice anything out of the ordinary regarding vision

DS had his first eye test at two and half, as I was going in for mine anyway.
I would have him in contact lenses as soon as he was ready/optician approved, as DH needed glasses from six-ish and it impacted how much sport he could do. So far, DS looks like he doesn't need eye help, but should he, I see no reason to delay contact lenses if they have been deemed safe/suitable.

DS has a good pair of sunglasses. Getting him to keep them on is hard, but we do what we can. (He is currently 4.)

Very professional company at great prices, never go anywhere else.

I would only let my child wear contact lenses when they were responsible enough to use them, it would depend on the individual child but maybe 10-12 up.

I think a child should have an eye test before starting school. It would would help to get them used to the glasses before they potentially have to use them during lessons and also helps to spot any sight issues before they might need to use glasses for long periods of time.

Knowing the problems that I have had with lens and putting them in my eyes, I don't really think they are suitable until a young person can get used to doing it themselves.

The sunglasses that have a band around the head were a god send for the little ones!

DD1 and DD2 both had their first eye tests through pre-school at age 4 - and im glad they did as it led to further tests and glasses for DD2. Now at ages 10 and 7 both girls go for yearly eye tests - I think its important to keep on top of. DS1 is only little at the moment but I will be making sure he has his done when he is 3.

DD2 wears glasses everyday and if she felt able (and I felt she was going to be able to manage) then i wouldnt have a problem with her trying contact lenses in the future, though right now she is a bit scared of the thought. :-)

Get them done every year as they can show other health problems up too, like high blood pressure. Ask health care professionals like health visitors and GPs what age to start from.

I started taking both my DD's for yearly eye tests aged around 5 or 6 and DD1 started wearing glasses as she was short sighted aged 10. From the start, she enjoys wearing them and almost sees them as a fashion statement now she's a teenager. I had no idea that contact lenses could be worn from such a young age but I'm pretty sure my DD would not want to even try them as she likes her glasses and they do really suit her.

I need to take my son for an eye test, hes started complaining about how bright things are and scrunching his eyes up

As I've been wearing glasses (and then lenses) since I was 5 and my husband also wears them we knew there was a good chance our boys could need glasses so got them tested at 2. Neither have ever worn sunglasses but do wear hats/caps to protect their eyes whenever out in the sun. I wouldn't trust children with the hygiene required for lenses, especially boys, until in their teens but everyone knows their own kids best so I'd expect this to be an individual judgement call

Unless you think theres an issue i think age 4 or older as i would assume very difficult to properly test a child if they cant read the eye test charts.
Sun glasses i tried to put on my son as baby but he rarely kept them on so i used baseball caps and kept buggy hood up
If i had a young child with prescription glasses i would definitely want them to have sunglasses too, and prescription goggles for swimming

I find Contacts fine to try at that age. i had them myself when I was younger. I think Eye Tests are very important and my Children have always had Eye Tests. My Children have always loved wearing Sunglasses. Always thought they made them look Cool.

I did basic eye tests at home to check that they could see things clearly as I am very short-sighted. Then took them for eye tests before they started school at 4. Luckily both my sons have good eyesight & don't need glasses.

I took all my children with me from a very early and as soon as they were old enough to walk they would sit in the chair after my eye test so they were used to it. They had their first eye test at 3 years old.

My daughter try contacts but hated them, she was 12 at the time. I think it was a bit too young, but let her try knowing she would like them, plus they don't realise how important eye health is. For now she is happy wearing and having a couple of pairs for different situations.

Both my children had eye tests at 3 years of age, and have had sunglasses since they were babies initially a headband type that went round back of the head so they couldn't pull them off easily. As for contact lenses I think it would depend on the maturity of the child, my DD is sensible but DS is not so would be wary of allowing him to have contact lenses until he was more mature.

My little boy is 4, and I haven't had his eyes tested yet. After reading this it will be at the top of my to do list!

I'd say around 3 years of age before they start school unless there are any tell-tale signs before that.

My little boy has worn sunglasses from age of 2. He has got through about 3 pairs so far so it is best not to buy expensive ones! Had not thought of taking him for an eye test yet (he is now 3)

Wish we'd realised earlier that my son was short sighted - somehow he was 7 before we realised how bad his eyesight was. It hadn't occurred to me to take him to an optician as I'd thought the school would include sight tests in a health check - I was wrong.

He started wearing contacts when he went to secondary school and that's worked out fine. He coped well with adapting to the contacts as he was highly motivated - he was never really happy with glasses. I'm a contacts wearer myself, so I felt confident about overseeing his first tries with them.

Now he's 19 and I remind him about giving the contacts a rest - otherwise he's inclined to over-wear them. Something that was difficult was figuring his entitlement to financial help with glasses/lenses after he turned 19 but was still a fulltime student - quite complicated and I'm not sure that he's really on top of it.

when they start to read

As my daughter never had any problems with vision or headaches etc. I didn't take her for her first eye test until she was 9 (and she was fine). I would definitely let a pre-teen have contacts. I got my first pair at the age of 10 and they were the awful, hard, gas-permeable ones. Keeping sunglasses on my daughter when she was little was a problem - you just have to keep persevering. Also, I made her keep on a sun-hat in case the glasses came off - that was better than nothing.

Kids should definitely have their first eye test at least before they start school, saves a lot of struggle and learning problems if they do need them!

As far as contacts are concerned I think it's dependant on the maturity of the child - it's really a hygiene issue and whether they can be trusted to wash their mitts before sticking them in their eyes! :D