Kids love Center Eye Care
We are lucky to have so many families that love our practice! Kids feel welcomed and at ease with our friendly doctors and staff.
“Dr. J and Dr. Ward are the best! I was a bit nervous to have an eye exam but they are both really nice and made me feel very relaxed. They helped me pick out a great pair of glasses and my friends at school think they look pretty cool on me.”
— Leo, 8th grader
Meet Max
Say hello to Max, one of the coolest kids we know. And we’re lucky because he’s also a part of our Center Eye Care family!
This lively and clever 9-year-old has been sporting glasses since he was just five. Recently, he decided he was ready for a change. Guess what? Max is now a bona fide contact lens rockstar.
For some, the thought of inserting contacts can be a tad overwhelming, especially for a kid! But Max? Not a chance. Right from the get-go, he resolved to take up the challenge, armed with nothing but a positive attitude. Each morning, he effortlessly slips in his contacts, all by himself. And for him, there’s no turning back.
Max is stoked about how much smoother many of his activities have become since switching to contact lenses. We recently had a chat with Max about his journey from glasses to contacts, and we’ve shared some highlights below.
Thank you, Max, for trusting us with your eye care needs. We can't wait to see all the amazing things you'll do in your new contact lens-wearing adventure. Keep shining, Max! You’re an inspiration to us all!
Hi Max! How old are you and what grade are you in?
Hi! I’m nine years old and in third grade at the Batchelder School.
Do you remember how old you were when you first started wearing glasses?
Yes, I was about five and a half and I got them in the summer.
Ah, so you've been wearing glasses since kindergarten then, got it! What got you interested in switching over to contacts?
A few things actually. Glasses didn’t really bother me too much, because I wore a band that went around the back of my head to keep my glasses on. But one time when I was at church, I wasn’t wearing the band, and my glasses fell off. Someone stepped on them, so then I had to go back to the eye doctor to get them fixed.
Also, some kids in school were curious about my glasses, and wanted to see what I looked like without them, so they would try to touch them. I didn’t like that too much, so I thought about switching over to contacts.
When you thought about getting contacts, was there anything that made you nervous about going through the process of getting them or wearing them?
I felt like touching my eye was going to be weird… like maybe my eye would fall out or something!
You’re not really supposed to touch your eyes, and now I was going to have to do that with contacts, so that was something different.
When you went to see Dr. J for your contact lenses appointment, was there anything that you were worried about?
Nah, I was kind of like,
let’s just do it!
Did they give you any helpful tips about how to wear your contacts?
Yes, they taught me how to put them in! At first, I was only opening my eye just a little bit, so they explained how to open my eye super wide with my hands. That really started to work…
That’s great! Do you put your contacts in all by yourself now?
Yes! In the morning, I wake up at like 6:45 or 7:00, and I get my contacts in. Then I get dressed and ready, and go to school.
And my contacts are dailies, so I open up a new pair everyday. I have a magnifying mirror, and special wipes, and some cloths all set up in my room so I can do this all by myself. At night, I take them out to go to sleep.
Since you have dailies, do you carry extra pairs of contacts around with you in case one falls out?
Yes, I do. But sometimes if I don’t bring an extra pair, I just bring my glasses with me. So if that happens, I can just put my glasses on.
So now that you have contacts, do you find it easier to play sports?
Yeah, sports are a lot easier! I remember once I was at one of my basketball games, and I was wearing my glasses. This one kid - who is really good - was playing offense, and he kind of bumped me, and my glasses got pushed into the bone on my face, and that hurt. So yeah, it’s easier to wear contacts during sports.
And finally, what would you say to another kid that may be a little nervous about getting contacts?
I would say
just do it!
If they don’t work for you, you can always go back to glasses for a little bit, maybe for like a year, but then you can try contacts again.
His courage, positive attitude, and eagerness to learn are commendable. It's truly inspiring to see how he adapted to contact lenses with such grace and determination. If there’s a poster child for embracing change with resilience, it’s Max. Every visit with him is a bright spark in our day, and we feel privileged to be a part of his eye care journey. Keep rocking, Max!
— Dr. J
Max is a superstar!
We want to thank Max’s parents for trusting us with his care, as well as allowing him to take the time to chat with us about his journey. We’re honored to treat amazing families and patients like Max!
What to expect and how to prepare your child for their first eye exam
LITTLES
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When meeting with your child’s eye doctor for the first time, be prepared to answer questions about your child’s birth history (including any complications during pregnancy or delivery), birth weight, and whether they were born full-term. The doctor will also ask questions regarding family history of ocular disease, and your child’s medical history— including previous eye problems, treatments or surgeries, current medications and any allergies they may have.
Be sure to tell your doctor about any delay in motor development, and if you have noticed:
Frequent eye rubbing or blinking
Difficulty maintaining eye contact
Poor tracking skills
It is also important to mention if your child has failed a vision screening conducted by their school or pediatrician.
Babies by six months of age are tested for eye focusing skills, color vision and depth perception. Your eye doctor will typically use three different tests to determine whether your baby’s eyes are developing normally.
Pupil responses. This test will measure your baby’s pupil response (opening and closing) in the presence or absence of light.
Fixate and follow. This test will measure your baby’s ability to fixate on and follow an object as it moves. The ability to fixate on an object usually develops within the first month of birth, while the ability to follow an object typically develops by three months of age.
Preferential looking. This test will measure your baby’s vision, using special cards that are blank on one side and striped on the other, to attract the baby’s gaze.
What the eye doctor will do:
Your eye doctor will do a physical exam of your child’s eye anatomy, and check his or her vision using eye chart tests, pictures, letters, and even toys and games. Tests used at this age are intended to be engaging and even fun, while allowing the doctor to check for visual acuity and any vision errors or eye health issues.
The doctor may also use drops – with your permission and your child’s — to dilate your preschooler’s pupils, allowing for a better look at the retina, optic nerve and blood vessels. These drops might sting a little and make your child’s vision blurry for a short time.
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If they’re old enough to understand what’s going on, sit down with them and explain what will happen during your doctor visit. Make sure they know the doctor will ask them to look at and identify objects. These could be pictures, letters, or shapes of light on the wall.
Explain that the doctor may put drops in their eyes, but it won’t hurt. They might sting, but only for a few seconds. Be honest with your child and work with your doctor to reassure them.
KIDS
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At this age, children are learning to color, draw, cut paper, stack blocks, build with Lego pieces, play with balls, and more!
A comprehensive exam for preschool children usually includes a series of tests for:
Visual acuity
Lazy eye
Stereopsis (3D vision)
Eye tracking
Convergence
Color vision
Ocular health
The eye doctor will do a physical exam of your child's eyes and also do vision screenings using eye chart tests, pictures, letters, or the "tumbling E game." This game measures how well your child sees the form and detail of objects. (Your doctor will call this visual acuity.)
Come prepared for your child’s eye exam with questions and information about your child’s eye habits and history.
Do they rub their eyes?
Squint?
Fail to make eye contact?
Have a history of any surgeries or developmental issues?
All of these visual skills are vitally important for the healthy development of an infant and to prepare them for the school years ahead.
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Sit down with them and explain what will happen during your doctor visit. Make sure they know the doctor will ask them to look at and identify objects. These could be pictures, letters, or shapes of light on the wall.
The optometrist will try to make sure your child feels comfortable and discuss any concerns. If your child is old enough, the optometrist may ask them questions. Otherwise, they will turn to you, as the parent, to see what is concerning you.
Explain that the doctor may put drops in their eyes, but it won’t hurt. They might sting, but only for a few seconds. Be honest with your child and work with your doctor to reassure them.
TWEENS & TEENS
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The body is rapidly changing during the teenage years. Between the ages of 13 and 18 (on average), unique vision issues can develop, which are commonly linked to development during puberty.
Some of the most common teen eye issues include:
Dry Eye Syndrome
UV Light Damage
Shortsightedness (Myopia)
Farsightedness (Hyperopia)
Astigmatism
Sports-Related Injuries
Digital Eye Strain
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It’s important to discuss any vision issues with your pre-teen and teenage children so these issues can be treated as soon as possible.
Let your tween or teen know that eye exams are painless, and honesty with the doctor is of the utmost importance.
Even slightly blurred vision can cause headaches and worsen a young person’s eyesight if left untreated. For teenage patients, it’s crucial that they wear glasses or contacts in order to see clearly and not suffer setbacks in school or in sports because of poor eyesight.
Kids Specialties
We have been serving kids from North Reading and the surrounding communities long enough to know what their biggest needs are, and we are proud to say we are experts in what they want! At Center Eye Care, we specialize in:
Cool and current style frames
The most durable and stylish sports sunglasses & athletic eyewear
Treating kids with kindness & respect, and making them feel comfortable and an integral part of their eye care and wellness
Eyes on the Prize
While it is common practice for pediatricians to conduct a brief vision screening at your child’s annual physical, it is important to emphasize that these screenings are not a substitute for a thorough examination performed by an eye doctor.
“One in four children has an undiagnosed vision problem because changes in their eyesight go unrecognized by both the child and their parents or guardian.”
— Andrea Thau, O.D., President of the American Optometric Association
Eye doctors utilize specific clinical and diagnostic tools and assessments to determine your child’s ocular health and visual abilities. Since many learning skills are dependent on the strength of visual skills such as binocular vision, accurate eye movements, the ability to see distant objects, etc., doctors recommend that children have their first eye exam even before reaching school age.
Seeing the world through the eyes of a child is the purest joy that anyone can experience.
— Constance Zimmer