Toddlers' and Children's Eyes

Parents are usually the first to notice signs indicating their child may have special vision needs.  Don't hesitate to talk to your pediatrician or eye doctor if you have any concerns about your child's vision. Some issues can be corrected easily with glasses.  

Other vision concerns or problems that can’t be corrected with glasses or contact lenses—may be detected by parents, or found during your child’s early eye examinations.   

Here are the most common vision issues:

According to the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, about 25 percent of school-age children require some vision correction to achieve emmetropia, or 20/20 vision.  Here are common conditions: 

• Nearsightedness, or myopia, affects distance vision.  Your child may read without difficulty, but will squint to see objects that are across the playground or far off.
• Farsightedness, or hyperopia, causes blurred vision at all distances. A farsighted child struggles to focus on any object, whether the item is close by or across the room.
• Astigmatism is an inherited condition, which causes images to blur because light rays are focused on some parts of the eye and not others.  Objects that are close-up or far off can be equally distorted.

These three issues can be corrected easily with glasses.

Signs to watch for:

If you spot a problem or a strange behavior in your child’s eyes, be sure to contact your eye doctor immediately, regardless of your child’s age.  While most children’s eyes develop normally, some of the problems can emerge in young children.

Find the symptom to learn more about the potential eye problems, what to watch for, and what can be done when your child needs special care.

Crossed eyes	One eye may turn in or out, or the eyes may seem to move independently, as if they can’t work together. This is known as strabismus, a medical condition that can and should be treated. Did you know? - One child in 20 has crossed eyes or trouble tracking. Almost half of all cases aren't detected until after age five, far past the time when they can be treated most effectively.
Drooping eyelid	If you child’s eyelid droops over the eye and appears as though it would block their vision, your child may be developing amblyopia, also known as “lazy eye.”  Amblyopia can result if your child has crossed eyes for longer than the first three months of life. One eye becomes stronger than the other, leading to blurring or a loss of vision in the weaker eye. This condition may be treated by having your child wear an eye patch over the stronger eye for an extended period—from weeks to months—to strengthen the weaker eye.
Milky white covering over the pupil	In rare cases, children develop childhood cataract in one or both eyes.  This appears as a milky white covering over the pupil, and may be detected at birth. The good news is that an ophthalmologist can correct the condition by surgically replacing the cloudy lens with a clear one, restoring your child’s eyesight.
Pink/red eyes	If your child's eyes are red and irritated, they may have a common condition called pink eye, or conjunctivitis. It is a temporary condition that requires treatment with prescription eye drops.
Vibrating Eyes	If your child’s eyes seem to jump, vibrate back and forth, or move erratically in a way that looks unusual to you, he or she may be one in about 670 born each year with nystagmus.  This condition may signal that the eyes’ motor system is not developing normally.  If you have a relative with nystagmus, or if you have it yourself, it’s possible that your child could develop this as well—so it’s important to tell your eye doctor during your child’s eye examination if nystagmus runs in your family.  The American Nystagmus Network provides a great deal of information on this unusual condition, its causes and treatment.