Check Your Toddler’s Eyes
Worried that your toddler may have a vision problem, but not sure enough to schedule a doctor’s visit? Consider some of these home tests, but be sure that your toddlers has at least a couple of eye exams by age three; some serious conditions can only be picked up during a thorough exam.
The red-dot test : Examine family photos. If your prints show everyone with red dots in both eyes and your toddler has a dot in only one eye, this could indicate a malalignment.
The at-home eye-chart test : National Society to Prevent Blindness (500 East Remington Rd, Shaumburg, IL 60173) offers an eye chart for testing young children who don’t yet know their letters. The chart uses Es facing up, down, left, and right instead of letters.
The look-who’s-coming test : Walk down the street with your toddles. Ask your spouse, a friend, or another familiar adult to approach from the opposite direction, and prompt your toddler to tell you who’s coming. If your child can identify the approaching figure about when you do, his or her vision is probably normal. If it takes much longer for your child to see who’s coming, he or she may be nearsighted.
The reflection test : Shine a penlight at your toddler’s eyes and note where the light is reflected should be at the center of the pupil in both eyes; if it isn’t, strabismus is likely
