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At Urquharts, we love looking after a whole family, from the kids, right through to the grandparents. Not only does it help to build a really strong relationship, but it also helps us to understand the complete family history in relation to your eye health. Many of our team members have children and we really do love looking after them. We treat them as our own!
It might seem like we are stating the obvious but your child’s eyes are so important. We use our eyes constantly to observe, to learn, to interact and to grow into the people we become. Indeed, a staggering 80% of school learning traditionally comes from visual perception and so poor eyesight can have a significant impact on how your child learns and develops.
Quite simply, the same level of care and attention as we would give to an adult getting an eye test.
While most children will have an eye test as part of their routine developmental checks, these tests are not as thorough as a full eye examination and should not act as a substitute. We would recommend that your child has an eye test before entering full-time education, meaning that any issues are identified early, ensuring the best possible opportunity for a fulfilling school life.
During the eye examination we’ll carry out many of the same tests as we do with adults. Our team of Optometrists has lots of experience of testing children and we will make sure that it is a fun and enjoyable experience, not just for the children, but also for their parents. Our aim is make our practice and people welcoming and friendly, ensuring there is no reason for any children not to want to have their eyes tested.
We achieve this in a number of ways, first of all by making your child feel relaxed and then by explaining what we will be doing in the eye examination. Children’s eye tests are different from those of adults in that we use specially designed charts that allow children to recognise shapes and pictures, rather than traditional letters and numbers. This means there is no requirement to being able to read for an eye test.
It’s really important to us that we have a range of fashionable, yet affordable eyewear for children. We understand that children are often quite hard wearing on their frames and
that they are more likely to be replaced regularly than adults. It is really important that a child’s glasses are fitted correctly and as such, only our fully qualified Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians are able to sign off the dispense of a child. This ensures that the sides and bridge of the frame all fit properly on your child. In Scotland, children are entitled to lenses under the NHS. As such we provide a complimentary range of children’s and teen’s frames, as well as some paid for frames such as Ray Ban & Ted Baker.
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In Scotland, under 16s are entitled to free annual eye examinations
If you have any concerns about your child’s vision at any age, then please visit one of our practices in Kilmarnock, Prestwick, Troon, Ayr, Kilwinning, Saltcoats, West Kilbride, Lanark, Eaglesham, Strathaven, Stranraer & Clarkston for an eye examination. However, if you don’t have any concerns then we would recommend being at least 3 and at the point where your child can communicate to some degree with our Optician. We’ll communicate in simple terms and make sure the eye examination is a fun and enjoyable experience
Yes, absolutely. As long as your child is of an age where they can follow the instructions of our Optometrist to allow the necessary images to be taken, then we would recommend our Premium Eye Exam
It’s not as easy as you might think and kids being kids, they can often go to some length to try and cover the fact that their vision might not be as clear as it could be. Obvious signs are squinting, tilting of the head to one side, sitting too close to the television or rubbing their eyes excessively. Instances such as complaining of headaches and lacking concentration at school can also be signs that an eye examination is necessary
