Putting East Devon children on the path to healthy sight for life.
Children’s eyesight was given a fun-filled twist by Exmouth opticians when they provided balloon animals and goodie bags.
The Specsavers Exmouth store was decorated with banners and balloons, staff all wore rainbow-coloured tops, and the dozens of youngsters who attended were given gifts, including a high-vis vest and a book explaining the sight test journey.
Ria Heskins, director at Specsavers Exmouth, said: “We had a wonderful day and are already looking forward to doing it again. It seemed like we saw the whole of Exmouth and more!
“The aim was to create an inviting environment for the children while also highlighting the importance of having children’s eyes tested.
“Eye tests can be less daunting for children simply by making the process as enjoyable for them as possible, because a positive experience can make such a difference for a lot of children.
“Ensuring your child has regular eye examinations from an early age is incredibly important. More than 80 per cent of our learning, cognitive and social abilities are facilitated through our sight, so it's extremely important to a child's overall development.
“It’s often difficult to tell whether a child has sight problems, which is why they should have an eye test at least every two years.
“Testing before they go into full‑time education means that any problems that they may have are identified early, setting them up for a happy and fulfilling school life.
“Poor eyesight can cause learning and behavioural problems, which might be blamed on other things.
“This is especially true for young children, who may find it difficult to explain the difficulties they are having with their eyesight, or may not even be aware they have a problem. The sooner vision problems are detected, the better the outcome.”
A Specsavers study shows that the average age at which a parent first takes their child to the optician is six years old, with half 50% going for a routine check-up and 24% going if they have a family history of eyesight issues. Meanwhile, 23% admit to only going if their child’s teacher advised them to.
Ria added: “Eye tests are free for children under the age of 16 and those under 19 in in full-time education.
“During a child’s eye test, we will check how well they can see, assess how the eyes work together as a pair, and check how the eyes are focused so we can understand if glasses are needed.
“The test will also pick up any common vision problems such as short-sightedness, long-sightedness, astigmatism or lazy eye.
“We want to ensure that children have the best possible vision to support their learning and development, because children shouldn’t be struggling in school due to undetected vision problems.
“So to set children on the path to having the healthiest sight for their life ahead, we’re aiming to make their early experiences with an optician as fun as possible.”
