Children’s Eye Exams | Downtown Eye Care Ottawa

Setting Your Kids Up for a Lifetime of Healthy Vision

Our team at Downtown Eye Care is passionate about helping children see clearly from the very start. Our friendly, welcoming team knows how to make eye exams comfortable (and even fun!) for kids of all ages.

We provide a warm, friendly environment where your children can feel comfortable. They’re never too young to learn that optometrists are here to help today, tomorrow, and long into the future.

Whether it’s their first appointment or part of their annual routine, your child’s eye exam is about more than just checking vision. It’s about laying the foundation for healthy development, learning, and confidence.

Bring the kids downtown for a comprehensive eye exam today!

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When Should Kids Have Their Eyes Checked?

It’s never too early to prioritize your child’s eye health. According to the Canadian Association of Optometrists:

First exam: between 6 and 9 months old
Second exam: Between the ages of 2 and 5, before starting school
After that: Every year until age 19

Routine exams can detect issues before they impact learning, behaviour, or development. Even if your child hasn’t mentioned any problems, annual eye exams help check that their visual system is on track.

How Vision Develops: Major Milestones

Just like walking and talking, healthy vision develops in stages. Some key milestones include:

3–5 months: Tracking objects, seeing colour contrast
5–7 months: Improved hand-eye coordination
7+ months: Developing depth perception and visual focus
2–5 years: Drawing, colouring, and motor skill development

All of these developments are aided by the eyes. Visual skills play a big role in discovering, sensing, and understanding the world. Kids with poor vision can experience delays in speech and language development and might even be misdiagnosed with a learning disability or behavioural disorder.

Vision plays a key role in your child’s overall growth—physically, socially, and academically. If these milestones aren’t being met, an eye exam can help identify the cause.

Spot the Signs: Does My Child Need an Eye Exam?

An estimated 25% of school-aged children suffer from vision problems, but they might not know there’s a problem. Kids often have no way of knowing that their vision isn’t normal. Keep an eye out for these signs:

Squinting or tilting the head
Covering one eye
Holding books or devices too close
Frequent eye rubbing
Headaches or eye pain
Difficulty focusing or poor concentration

If you notice any of these behaviours, it’s time to schedule an eye exam.

Move Beyond Simple Screenings

The simple vision screenings that often take place in schools might detect a need for corrective lenses, but they are not always enough to detect other issues with your child’s sight.

Basic vision screenings at school can miss important conditions like:

Strabismus (crossed eyes)
Amblyopia (lazy eye)
Myopia (nearsightedness)

Our optometrists offer comprehensive children’s eye exams designed to catch these early. We can even offer myopia control options to help slow vision changes over time using specially designed contacts, glasses, or eye drops.

Let’s support your child’s success together—book their eye exam today.

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Come visit our team

We’re located in Suite 216 in the 350 Sparks Street Office. We share an underground parking garage with the Hilton Garden Inn at 361 Queen Street. The parking garage can be accessed via Queen Street.