We are very pleased to examine children at O’Fallon Family Eyecare.  An important part of your child’s overall health maintenance program is regular professional vision care. Your child’s eyes must function properly to accomplish the many visual tasks he or she will encounter in school and elsewhere. Understandably, kids can be apprehensive about seeing a new doctor, especially if it is their first eye exam  However, Dr. Bhat’s calm demeanor and fun attitude makes our young friends feel right at home.

Barring any obvious eye problems or injuries, the first regular optometrist examination for a child should be conducted between the ages of 3 and 4 years when the child can begin to give coherent answers to questions.

Your child’s eyes will be tested by the staff and optometrist using eye charts that contain pictures, numbers, or letters. At this stage, the doctor measures a child’s visual acuity, checks depth perception and color vision, examines the health of the eyes, and looks for any signs of crossed eyes or other congenital disorders.  Of course we also assess vision to see if glasses would help the vision.

Do not confuse a “vision screening”, a brief check which tests how well a child sees an eye chart at 20 feet, with a comprehensive eye examination. Reading and learning require the integration of several different visual skills. Only one is checked by the typical school eye chart test. Quick eye examinations may cover only one or two. Our comprehensive eye exam checks all visual skills. Your child deserves the best visual care!