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Toddler · 1–3 years
Yes, a toddler can have a full eye test. Here is how, and what we look for.
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How we test eyes before a child can read
No letters, no right answers, nothing to memorise. Here is exactly what happens when we measure the sight of a child who can't yet read, and why most of it feels like a game.
Key takeaways
- A child does not need to read, speak, or even cooperate for us to measure their vision accurately.
- Toddlers and preschoolers match pictures or shapes instead of naming letters.
- Retinoscopy, a light and a set of lenses, measures the focusing power of each eye with no answers required at all.
Eye tests & check-ups
How we test eyes before a child can read
No letters, no right answers. What actually happens when we measure a two-year-old's sight.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Styes and chalazia: the little lump on your child's eyelid
The lump looks dramatic. Nearly always it is a small blocked gland, and there is a calm plan for it.
Warning signs
Why does my child keep rubbing their eyes?
Tired, itchy, or blurry: what a child's rubbing is telling you.
Safety & sun
Eye safety at home: the accidents I see, and how to stop them
Most eye injuries in children happen at home. Here is what actually reaches my clinic, and how to prevent most of them.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Why your child's bottom lashes keep brushing her eye
A lower-lid fold tips soft baby lashes inward, not the lid itself. Often there from birth, often nothing at all, and here is what actually helps.
Eye tests & check-ups
What actually happens at a klinik kesihatan eye check
A weighing scale, a growth chart, and a quiet check of the eyes. What a public clinic visit for a toddler actually covers.
Squint & lazy eye
My toddler's eye suddenly turned in: when a squint is urgent
New this week, or there all along? The difference decides how fast you need to be seen.
Squint & lazy eye
The head tilt that shows up in every photo
The same tilt in every photo, for years, is not a habit. Here is what it usually means.
Eye tests & check-ups
Getting eye drops into a small human
Half runs down the cheek, he clamps his eyes shut. Here is what actually works.
Glasses
Why does my toddler keep pulling off his glasses?
Why the fit matters more than the frame, and how most toddlers come round within two weeks.
Eye tests & check-ups
About those eye drops at the clinic
What the drops are actually for, how long the blur lasts, and what the afternoon looks like.
Safety & sun
A chemical splash in a child's eye: the first sixty seconds
Rinse first, phone second. What to do in the minute after a cleaning product goes into a child's eye.
Warning signs
The child who hates bright light: how to tell what it means
Screwing up her eyes in the sun, or something more. The two questions that sort it out.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Little pearly bumps on your child's eyelid: molluscum, and why the eye can stay red
A pearly little bump on the lash line can be the hidden reason one eye stays red for weeks.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
A bright red patch on the white of your child's eye
A patch of solid red on the white of the eye, appearing overnight. Nearly always a burst small vessel, not an injury inside the eye.
Milestones & myths
Vitamin A and children's eyes: what real deficiency looks like
Real deficiency is rare and staged. Here is what it looks like, and who is actually at risk.
Red, sticky & watery eyes
Eyelid eczema in children: the red, cracked skin around the eyes
Red, dry, sometimes cracked skin around the eyes is usually a skin problem, not an eye problem, and it has its own gentle care routine.
Milestones & myths
Eye checks for children with cerebral palsy or developmental delay
A child who cannot point, speak or hold still can still have their eyes properly checked. Here is how.
Warning signs
My child was poked in the eye: what to do in the first minutes
What to look at in the first minutes, what makes it same-day, and what not to do.
Warning signs
My child's eyelid started drooping suddenly: when it is urgent
New this week? That one word decides how fast you need to be seen.
Safety & sun
Eye drops in the house: keeping small children safe, including a grandparent's glaucoma drops
The bottle by Grandpa's bed and the one in your handbag. Where to keep them, and what to do.
Warning signs
A white spot in my child's eye: where it is decides what it is
Look at where it sits. A white pupil needs an eye doctor promptly.
Safety & sun
Something in my child's eye: sand, an eyelash or a speck, and what to do
Sand, an eyelash or a speck in the eye: don't rub, blink, flush, and know when to go.
Safety & sun
Glue in the eye: superglue, nail glue and the eye-drop mix-up, and what to do first
What to do first if superglue or nail glue gets in an eye, and what the doctor does.
Warning signs
Tomcat beetle (semut charlie) near a child's eye: what to do
What the beetle is, what to do first, and the signs that should not wait.
Safety & sun
Chilli, sambal or hot oil in a child's eye: what to do first
What to do first when chilli, sambal or hot oil gets in a child's eye.
Squint & lazy eye
When should a child with a squint see an eye doctor?
Today, this week or booked: the timing, by sign and age.
the short version, every week
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@drchanliyen