Tips for a Visit to the Eye Doctor

Going to visit a "doctor" of any type, can result in a series of behaviors even for us as adults. Today's blog will review tips on how to best prepare your child for a visit to the eye doctor.

1. Prepare your child for what they will encounter: Showing your child what they are likely to experience before the visit will assist your child in becoming more familiar with the visit (i.e. showing pictures of the doctor's office, the doctor, the tools they may use, etc.). Some offices now have virtual tours so they can view exactly what they will see on the visit!
2. Practice what the doctor will ask of them: The doctor may ask your child to cover one eye and then ask to cover the other. As a parent, we can show our child what this looks like (modeling) and then have the child practice while providing positive feedback.
3. Practice labeling items/compare and contrast: Usually, the doctor will ask that the child label items, letters or numbers. They will also ask the child to compare and contrast when looking through the lens. Using the steps in #2, we can practice doing so with these items. If your child cannot label things such as numbers and letters, inform the doctor as they have various tools to help! 
4. Relax: Sometimes as parents, we are more worried about our child's reaction than they are. Remember to not scare the child by saying everything that can go wrong but by explaining to them why it's important to visit the eye doctor and how fun it will be!

Thanks to Dr. Knighton at Bright Eyes Kids and Dr. Laura Vizzari at Vision Source for your suggestions!