A 2018 national poll found that nearly 50% of parents say their children fear going to the doctor. Further, one in five parents say they struggle to tame those anxieties, making it difficult to focus and listen to the doctor during appointments.
At Wide Eye Optometry in Encino, Santa Clarita, and Palmdale, California, Mary Demirjian, OD, and our expert team understand that many children experience appointment-related anxiety. Thankfully, there’s a lot you can do to take the mystery out of an eye exam and help your child stay relaxed before and during their visit.
Pediatric eye care is important because it can identify refractive errors and other vision problems before they progress and affect your child’s eyesight. Since poor vision can impact learning, development, and general well-being, diagnosis and treatment of childhood eye problems is essential.
The American Optometric Association encourages all parents to schedule pediatric eye exams for infants between six and 12 months of age. Kids in this age range are too young to be scared or anxious, but if your child is a toddler or school-aged, visiting the eye doctor can cause major worries. The good news is that you can help ease their fears. Here’s how:
There’s nothing more scary than the unknown, so it’s no wonder many kids fear their first eye care appointment. You can relieve some of this anxiety by explaining what they can expect in age-appropriate detail. Simply reassuring your child that the process is quick, painless, and needle-free can go a long way toward helping them relax.
Explain that an eye exam involves reading letters or pictures off of charts, and looking through different lenses to check for problems like blurry or distorted vision. In addition, encourage them to speak up if they have questions for Dr. Demirijian.
If a thorough explanation doesn’t help your child relax, consider role-playing as an eye doctor. For instance, you can print an eye chart and pin it to a wall in your kitchen.
Ask your child to sit in a chair facing the wall with the chart and have them read the letters to you while covering one eye at a time. You can also take a small flashlight and ask your child to follow the beam with their eyes. These activities take the mystery out of the visit and make it feel less scary.
Does your child have a favorite stuffed animal, blanket, or toy that helps them relax? If so, feel free to bring it to their appointment. Your child can hold their comfort item close throughout their eye exam.
Many children worry they’ll have to see the eye doctor alone, without a parent or caregiver by their side. At Wide Eye Optometry, we want parents to join their children in the exam room. Since you’re right there supporting them the entire time, the exam becomes less scary.
Routine pediatric eye exams can preserve your child’s vision and identify common problems like refractive errors that may require eyeglasses. Call or click online to schedule a visit at your nearest Wide Eye Optometry office in Encino, Santa Clarita, or Palmdale, California, today.