Simple measures can keep your child’s eyes healthy. Encouraging your child to play outside for at least one hour a day has been shown to reduce the risk of them needing glasses long term, especially if one or both parents are short sighted.

Ensuring a healthy diet with fruit and vegetables is important for eye health.

We are all spending more time on screens, and this affects our blink rate. Often children who use a small screen such as a phone or tablet, for long periods develop irritable, watery or sore eyes. It is recommended that a child spends no more than 20 minutes on a screen at one time and has regular breaks to relax their eyes refresh the ‘tear film’. This is a thin fluid layer that covers the surface of the eye. It keeps tears from drying up too quickly and nourishes the eye tissue.

This video encourages young children to be aware of things that might show there is a problem with their eyes, and why they should tell an adult about it.

The area of eye care that deals with eye conditions in children is called paediatric ophthalmology. Eye conditions that affect children, and the treatment methods used, are different to those for adults.

Up to the age of 16, children are cared for by a paediatric ophthalmology service within a hospital. Some areas offer community clinics as well as hospital clinics.

If your child is referred to a paediatric ophthalmology service you will get an appointment for them at a local eye clinic. This video show you and your child what a typical appointment at an eye clinic looks like.

A paediatric ophthalmology service covers all major eye conditions including those listed below:

All babies will have their eyes checked shortly after they are born. These tests are repeated when the baby is about six to eight weeks old by a GP or health visitor. 

Children usually have a vision check in school during reception year, at age 4 to 5 years. School eye tests are not offered in all areas of West Yorkshire. If your child's eyes are not tested at school, please speak to your school nurse or take them to your local opticians for a free eye test.

Children should have their eyes checked every two years unless there are any problems or concerns when they may need more frequent checks. These routine checks are free for children under 16. Contact your opticians to book an eye test and eye health check for your child. The NHS has more information about eye tests for children on its website and there is also some information on our WY Healthier Together website. 

Having your child’s eyes tested regularly is the best way to make sure their eyes are healthy. Many vision problems and eye conditions can be detected and treated early, sometimes before there are any symptoms.

This video created by the College of Optometrists explains what happens during a visit to an optometrist through the eyes of Robert, aged 8.

If you think your child may need glasses, or if you have any other concerns about your child's eyes, speak with your health visitor or GP. Or you can take them to a local opticians. Find your nearest opticians on this page Sight Tests - NHS (www.nhs.uk). Contact your local opticians to book a sight test and eye health check for your child if they:

  • have one eye that turns inwards or outwards
  • rub their eyes - a lot
  • have very watery eyes
  • often bump into things
  • have poor hand-eye co-ordination – they may struggle to hit or catch a ball for example
  • avoid reading, writing or drawing
  • screw up their eyes when they read a book or watch TV
  • sit very close to the TV, or hold books or objects close to their face
  • behave badly at school, or find it difficult to concentrate
  • complain of blurred or double vision
  • suffer with unexplained headaches

In some cases, these symptoms and conditions can be managed and treated by an optometrist at your opticians, in others a referral to a hospital eye clinic may be required.

Take the glasses to an opticians to get them mended or replaced as soon as you can so your child is able to wear them again. Find your nearest opticians on this page Sight Tests - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

If your child has one eye that turns in or out compared to the other eye it could be a squint, also called strabismus. This should be checked as soon as possible so please contact your GP or local opticians for referral to a paediatric ophthalmology service.

There is more information about squints on the NHS website.

If your child has a squint that you feel is getting worse, or they tell you their eye hurts or they complain of a headache, take them to a local opticians for a check, or to a local emergency eye clinic. See this section Emergency eye care for your nearest emergency eye clinic.

Treatment should ideally start before the age of seven when your child’s vision is still developing. To treat lazy eye, your child will wear an eye patch over the stronger eye for a few hours a day or may be prescribed eye drops to use at night. It’s important that your child keeps going with the patching or drops until the paediatric ophthalmology service believes that it is no longer making a difference. The length of time a child needs treatment will vary but for most children it will take around six months. If you run out of patches, or have any questions or concerns about the patching, please contact the paediatric ophthalmology service.

There is more information about lazy eye on the NHS website.

Here is a video about squints and lazy eye from Moorfields:

Blepharitis is a long-term condition. Please keep cleaning the eyelids and continue with the warm compresses and medication (if prescribed) as instructed at your child’s last appointment. Cleaning the eyelid margins with a make-up wipe every morning and evening, when they are cleaning their teeth for example, is a good way of reducing the oil build up which causes the symptoms.

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s blepharitis, contact the eye clinic for advice.

See more information here from Moorfields Eye Hospital regarding children with blepharitis and general information about blepharitis on the NHS website.

Chalazion are lumps or cysts that develop in the eyelid. It’s not a harmful condition and they usually gradually shrink with time. Warm compresses may help, as well as gentle eyelid massage. It is rare that a child needs antibiotics, as the gland is just blocked, not infected. Cleaning the eye lid margins with a make-up wipe every morning and evening (e.g., when they are cleaning their teeth) is a good way of reducing the oil build up which causes the symptoms.

If the chalazion seems to be getting larger or there is redness, heat or swelling, please seek professional advice. Contact the eye clinic if your child has already been referred to a paediatric ophthalmology service. If they have not, please contact your GP.

See here for general information from Moorfields Eye Hospital on chalazion.

Here is a video showing how to clean the eyelids in children and babies.

This technique is useful for children who have blepharitis or chalazions (lid cysts, internal styes) to reduce symptoms and prevent the condition worsening once treated.

When tear ducts become blocked, tears build up causing watery eyes. This is a harmless condition that can be easily treated at home. It is common for babies to have narrow tear ducts and sticky eyes in the first 12 months of life. As the nasal passageways get wider and the baby produces more watery (rather than sticky) tears, the problem corrects itself.   

An operation is not recommended before this age. Massage down the side of the nose gently to encourage the tear duct to open up. Keep cleaning the eyelids to remove the discharge and apply a tiny amount of a paraffin-based cream such as Vaseline to the eyelid skin at the corner of the eye to waterproof it if the skin gets red and sore. There is more information here on our WY Healthier Together website.

Here is a video that shows how to clear a blocked tear duct:

Allergic eye diseases like conjunctivitis are usually treated with eye drops. Use the eye drops as prescribed by the eye clinic or healthcare professional. If your appointment has been delayed and/or their eyes are becoming redder and sorer, please continue with drops as prescribed. Your GP should continue to provide repeat prescriptions. If you are having problems obtaining the drops, please contact your child’s Ophthalmology department.

Here is some more information about conjunctivitis and conjunctivitis in children specifically. There is also a section on our WY Healthier Together website.

If your child has had cataract surgery previously and wears contact lenses, you should continue putting them in and patching as long as the eye is not inflamed - as long as the white part of the eye looks white, not red.

Here is some more information about childhood cataracts.

If you child’s glaucoma clinic appointment has been delayed, please continue with the eye drops as prescribed in clinic. Please ask the GP if they can issue repeat prescription. If you have any concerns, please phone your child’s ophthalmologist department for more advice

Here is some more information from Moorfields about childhood glaucoma.

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is an eye condition that can happen in babies that are premature (born early) or babies that weigh three pounds or less at birth. Screening for ROP occurs on the neonatal unit for those babies at risk. Long term follow up in clinic is usually not necessary.

Here is a link to an information leaflet about ROP.