Free Children’s Eye Exam
Children’s Eye Test – NHS Entitlement
It is absolutely vital for a parent to book an eye test regularly for children. Children are unable to communicate their discomfort and any problems they are experiencing with their sight and therefore to have their eye sight checked on a regular basis becomes important to maintain eye health.
A regular eye exam will help to detect any general health problems, eye diseases and distortion in vision. The most important part of the eye examination is ensuring that children can see clearly as this can affect developmental and learning growth. Eyesight can affect a child’s social interaction and having an eye test to detect any vision problems early can help to prevent any problems for the child.
The NHS entitles all children under the age of 16 to a free eye examination. Those in full time education until the age of 18, is still entitled to a free eye test under the NHS. Despite the NHS providing free eye exam together with vouchers for any glasses required by the child, children are still not having eye tests on an annual basis. The first time a child has their sight tested is by the GP at their eight month check up, parents then do not arrange to bookeyetest again to keep up the eye health check. The next time their sight is checked is when they attend school usually at the age of five when they may have vision screening carried out at the school.
At the time when a child is checked at school they maybe referred to see an optometrist for a full eye examination, to investigate a problems that has been detected. What is most common in these cases is that eye problems had developed sometime ago but was not discovered earlier on.
A parent should book an eye test for their child as early as the age of 3 and should have an eye exam every year or earlier if advised by your optometrist.
To book eye test can be as simple as booking the test online now, the form takes two minutes. Click here to BookEyeTest now.