Grow up and see well – I will accompany you and your eyes as they grow

It takes ten years for full development of visual acuity in children – for some children it can even take 12 years. Although newborns still see blurred, they can perceive light-dark contrasts.

Around four percent of all newborn children have strabism (squint). In more than a half, the misalignment of the eyes can be corrected with appropriate glasses. The other half requires strabismus treatment, sometimes surgery, which can be done at any age.

In order to be able to detect eye diseases (congenital cataract, eye tumors in children), strabism (squinting) or myopia and short-hyperopia early enough, two ‘Mutter-Kind-Pass (MKP)-Untersuchungen’ (mother-child passport examinations) are planned for small children:

– 1st ‘Mutter-Kind-Pass-Untersuchung’ in the 1st year of life (10-14 months)
– 2nd ‘Mutter-Kind-Pass-Untersuchung’ in the 2nd year of life (22-26 months)

From the age of 3 you should let check-up your child eyes every two years.

Early diagnosis and treatment of visual disorders in children can prevent lifelong visual impairment!

For children, pupil dilation with eye drops must be carried out to determine correctly possible glasses and a check of the retina. Please plan a total treatment time of around 50 minutes for the examination of your child. Your child will then have dilated pupils for the rest of the day, which means he or she will see blurry and be more sensitive to light. You might bring sunglasses or a cap for your child on sunny days.
Kind mit Probierbrille
TIP: Consider taking a familiar cuddly toy with you – it might be happy to have its eyes examined too 
80% of learning happens through the visual sense. Children who don’t see well can have problems with reading and writing for that reason. So keep an eye for any early abnormalities and have your child’s eyes checked regularly by your ophthalmologist – especially before starting school. In this way you can help your child in the long term and contribute to a happy school life.
The unrestricted use of smartphones and excessive gaming on the computer can lead to myopia progression followed by retinal problems in adulthood. Children’s eyes can still grow and change. Therefore, pay attention on regular breaks while using smartphones and computers. The best way to reduce the risk of myopia is to spend at least two hours a day outdoors in natural daylight.