by Jane Vee

Created on: January 11, 2010

Choosing an eye doctor for your child may be difficult, but knowing whether or not your child needs glasses is well worth the search and the cost of a good doctor. Once the child is examined the child will be able to get the correct glasses they need to see or they will know they do not need glasses. Parents will stop wondering and worrying.

You may not know whether or not your child needs glasses. There are signs that tell you that you should take your child to an eye doctor. When you see the signs that your child might need glasses, you will start looking for an eye doctor to accommodate your child. There are a few things you should consider when choosing an eye doctor for your child.

If cost is a concern you may want to shop around for price. You can either call your insurance or if you do not have insurance call the eye doctor offices in the area and ask them about their charges and their payment policy.

You will want to choose an eye doctor that is covered by your insurance. It’s best to call your insurance company to get suggestions for eye doctors in your area that will accept your insurance. When you set the appointment for the eye doctor you will want to verify that they still accept the insurance you have. Sometimes insurance acceptance will change overnight.

One of the most important things you need to consider when choosing an eye doctor for your child is to make sure the eye doctor is capable of working with children. Just because the doctor will take patients as young as five does not mean he or she works well with them. Here’s an example: My daughter read I’s as T’s and V’s as U’s as well as E’s as O’s. All these letters were lower case. She said “it could be” this, or “it might be” this. The doctor said she didn’t need glasses, she just needed to concentrate more. As a concerned parent, I am getting a second opinion from a specialist who is capable of examining children of any age.

Eye doctors may work with certain age children if the child knows his or her alphabet completely. Before going to this type of eye doctor, make sure you know what your child is and is not capable of doing. The eye doctor may have some hesitations or questions.

Make sure the eye doctor is equipped to give a thorough eye exam. Ask if a picture will be taken of the eye. The machine shows an image and then a picture is taken as the eye focuses. This is extremely helpful in determining whether a person needs glasses or not. The device measures how fast and how your eye focuses. This is sometimes given as a preliminary test to children who are not able to read yet.

If this will be the first eye exam your child has, you may want to ask if a glaucoma test will be given with the wind blown into the eye. This test is extremely uncomfortable to adults, so you may not want to have your child subjected to it. After all, it is hard enough to get your child to go to a doctor. If the staff and doctor are going to answer all of your questions, then maybe you will feel comfortable having your child see them.

Whoever the eye doctor is that your child sees, be sure to let your child know ahead of time that she or he is going to an eye doctor and it will not be painful. If you can explain the procedure to your child and let them ask any questions they may have, you will calm their fears. If you can calm their fears, going to the eye doctor will be a more pleasant adventure.

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