Shuswap Optometric Center

Comprehensive Children's Eye Exams

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A Comfortable Experience You Can Trust

Quality eye care is vital in every stage of life, but it’s especially important for children. Many children’s eye conditions and issues are hard to spot because kids may recognize a problem with their vision.

Our team is here to help demystify eye care for your child in a way that’s informative, comfortable, and fun! We are ready to provide your child with the tools they need to see life with the clearest vision possible.

Find the help your child deserves. Book their appointment today.

When Should You Book Your Child for an Eye Exam?

Great vision and healthy eyes start with an eye exam. Early diagnosis is key to managing a range of different issues, so your child needs to start having eye exams as early as possible.

The Canadian Association of Optometrists recommends that children have their first eye exam between 6 and 9 months to ensure their vision is developing normally.

Since many eye issues, including myopia, strabismus, and amblyopia, tend to occur around 3 years, it’s important your child have another eye exam when they’re between 2 and 5.

From 6 years up, your child should have annual eye exams to ensure their vision is developing with issues. Eye problems around this age can impact your child’s performance at school, affecting their grades and possibly even their confidence.

What Should Your Child Expect from Their Eye Exam?

A Discussion About Their Eye Health

When you and your child come in, our doctors will happily escort you to the exam room. Our relaxed and easy-going staff help your child feel comfortable and safe while we start the exam with a discussion about their eye health and family health history.

Please feel free to let us know of any questions or concerns you may have about your child’s vision. With more insight into your child’s health, we can adapt the exam to address any problems they might be experiencing.

Once we’ve confirmed your child’s health history and medical information is correct and up-to-date, we will move on to the rest of the eye exam.

A big part of every exam is determining what prescription your child may need (their visual acuity). We can do this in various ways, but some of the most common tools we use include the Snellen eye chart and phoropter machine.

After determining your child’s prescription, we will move on to screening for eye diseases.

Many eye diseases can develop without symptoms for quite a long time, but eventually, they can lead to permanent vision loss. It’s important to catch these issues early, so we include fully comprehensive eye disease screenings with every eye exam.

While many eye conditions occur with age, it is still possible for a child to develop one without knowing it. During an eye exam, we will take a detailed look at your child’s ocular health using cutting-edge technology that examines high-risk areas for eye disease, including the retina, the macula, the optic nerve, and more.

At the end of the eye exam, we will have a conversation with you and your child about our findings. Depending on what your child may need, we can provide a strategy for managing their particular issues, such as prescribing medications or recommending glasses.

We will also consider your child’s comfort and lifestyle to ensure they can live their life while wearing glasses or undergoing treatment for eye problems.

How to Tell if Your Child Has an Eye Issue

It can sometimes be difficult to tell if your child has a vision problem. But if you notice these signs in your child’s behaviour, it may be time to have their eyes examined by one of our professionals:

  • Constant eye rubbing
  • Sitting close to televisions and computers to see
  • Difficulty reading, even if they are following with their finger
  • Lack of concentration or focus
  • Poor or slipping grades

How Can Vision Therapy Help?

Vision therapy is a program involving professionally-designed exercises that can improve your child’s visual skills. By working with your child throughout a vision therapy program, we can help your child manage eye conditions, like amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (crossed eyes), that could impair their visual efficiency and effectiveness.

If you think vision therapy may be the right solution for your child, please visit our Vision Therapy page for more information, or contact us today to book your appointment.

Get Your Child the Help They Deserve

We’re ready to help your child find clear, comfortable, and healthy vision. Please book an appointment for them today and let us help them see the difference eye care can make.

Our Locations

Shuswap Optometric Centre

How To Find Us
From the Trans-Canada Highway, turn on to Alexander Street NE going south and take your immediate right into our spacious parking lot. Accessible parking spaces are available.

Contact Information

Address

3-160 Trans-Canada HWY NE
Salmon Arm, BC V1E 1V4

Hours of Operations

Monday
8 AM5 PM
Tuesday
8 AM7:30 PM
Wednesday
8 AM5 PM
Thursday
8 AM5 PM
Friday
8 AM5 PM
Saturday
8 AM2 PM
Sunday
Closed

Chase Optometric Centre

How To Find Us
Our clinic is located on Shuswap Avenue, right across the street from Thompson-Nicola Regional Library and Western Financial Group.

Contact Information

Address

633 Shuswap Avenue
Chase, BC V0E 1M0

Hours of Operations

Monday
Closed
Tuesday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Friday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Closed

We’re closed for lunch from 12:00pm to 1:00pm every day.

How To Find Us
From the Trans-Canada Highway, turn on to Alexander Street NE going south and take your immediate right into our spacious parking lot. Accessible parking spaces are available.

Contact Information

Address

3-160 Trans-Canada HWY NE
Salmon Arm, BC V1E 1V4

Hours of Operations

Monday
8 AM5 PM
Tuesday
8 AM7:30 PM
Wednesday
8 AM5 PM
Thursday
8 AM5 PM
Friday
8 AM5 PM
Saturday
8 AM2 PM
Sunday
Closed

How To Find Us
Our clinic is located on Shuswap Avenue, right across the street from Thompson-Nicola Regional Library and Western Financial Group.

Contact Information

Address

633 Shuswap Avenue
Chase, BC V0E 1M0

Hours of Operations

Monday
Closed
Tuesday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Friday
8:30 AM4:30 PM
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Closed

We’re closed for lunch from 12:00pm to 1:00pm every day.

Our Services

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