“What age should a child have an eye test?”

Starting at birth, your pediatrician should examine your child's eyes for "red reflex," movement/alignment, and other structural issues. These evaluations continue at every well child check, which should occur, as per Bright Futures recommendations, at 2 mos, 4 mos, 6 mos, 9 mos, 12 mos, 15 mos, 18 mos, 24 mos, 30 mos, 36 mos, and then yearly thereafter. At each visit, you should be asked if you have any concerns about your child's vision or have noticed any abnormalities. Starting at age 3 yrs, your pediatrician should attempt an age appropriate visual acuity test, that will continue annually thereafter. Vision 20/50 or above warrants further ophthalmologic evaluation, as does any earlier concerns about alignment, etc. Recent technology has developed a photometric device to assess these things.

In my office, we have a machine that does a screening eye test/exam and I try to get the parents to have us use it at the 2 yr check-up and yearly there-after. Little kids can't tell you that they can't see well!

The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends eye screening (other than routine physical exam) for children as young as 1 year of age. This is commonly known as “photoscreening” and is done with a particular device that your physician may or may not have.   

Dr. K

Thank you for your question,

This answer is based on the suggestions by the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and American Academy of Ophthalmology. Eye exams are done several times from infancy. From the newborn period and during well exams as an infant. Vision screening which may be what you mean by eye test usually between the ages of 3 and 3 1/2 yrs. So expect your child to be screened soon.

Hello

Usually the eye test starts at the 4th year physical.