Night Driving and Winter Glare: Why Your Eyes Struggle From October Onwards
16 September 2026
12:05
A child will not tell you their vision is poor. Not because they are stoical, but because they have nothing to compare it with. If the board at the front of the class has always been slightly fuzzy, that is simply what boards look like.
What you see instead is behaviour. Sitting close to the television. Losing interest in reading. Being described as not concentrating. Going quiet about a sport they used to enjoy. None of those look like a vision problem to a parent, and that is precisely why children’s eye problems tend to be found late rather than early.
This is what to do about it: when to start, what actually gets checked, and the things most parents are never told.
Earlier than most people assume, and you do not need to wait for a problem.
|
Age |
What we check |
What parents usually notice |
|---|---|---|
|
6–12 months |
Eye alignment, focusing, obvious abnormality |
A turning eye, or nothing at all |
|
3 years |
Vision each eye, squint, long sight, eye health |
Sitting close to the TV |
|
Starting school |
Full assessment before reading demands begin |
Reluctance with books or close work |
|
7–11 years |
Short sight often appears here |
Squinting at the board, copying errors |
|
Teenage years |
Prescription changes, screen-related strain |
Headaches, holding phones very close |
|
Any age |
After a knock, or any sudden change |
Anything that came on suddenly |
The most common question we get is whether a child is too young. The answer is almost always no. If there is a reason to look, we can look.
This is the single biggest misconception, and it delays a lot of first appointments.
We do not need a child to read letters. We do not need them to talk to us at all, in fact. Testing children uses matching games, picture charts, symbols they can point at, and objective techniques that measure how the eye focuses without requiring any response from the child whatsoever.
A three-year-old can have a thorough eye examination. So can a baby, where there is a reason to. Our guide on what age children should have their eyes tested goes into the detail.
Worth being clear about, because a passed screening reassures parents into leaving it for years.
A school vision screening is designed to catch obvious distance vision problems, and it does that job reasonably well. What it does not do is assess how the two eyes work together, how quickly the eyes change focus between near and far, colour vision, or the health of the eye itself.
That matters because several of the problems that affect a child’s schooling are not distance vision problems. A child who can read the board perfectly well may still be struggling to sustain focus on a page for twenty minutes, and that child will be described as inattentive rather than long-sighted.
A screening says “the obvious things look fine”. An examination says what is actually going on. They are not the same test and should not be treated as interchangeable.
Five things that come up repeatedly in the practice, in rough order of how often.
Our children’s appointments run the same full forty minutes as adult ones, which matters more with children rather than less. Testing a child properly requires patience, breaks and a willingness to come at things a second way if the first does not work.
More on how we approach children specifically on our children’s eyecare page.
This deserves its own conversation, and it is one many parents are never offered.
Short sight in childhood usually progresses. The traditional response is a stronger prescription each year, which corrects the vision but does nothing about the progression. Higher levels of short sight carry increased long-term risk of eye health problems in adulthood, so slowing the rate of change matters in its own right.
Myopia management covers the approaches available, including specialised spectacle lenses, particular contact lenses and overnight Ortho-K lenses. The consistent finding across all of them is that starting earlier produces more benefit than starting later, which is why it is worth raising at the next appointment rather than the one after. There is more background in our article on myopia in children.
One piece of advice that costs nothing: time spent outdoors is associated with slower progression of short sight in children. It is one of the few genuinely free interventions in eye care.
The worry every parent raises. Three things make the difference, and none of them are about the frame.
For older children playing club sport, everyday frames are the wrong tool and there are better options, covered on our sports optician page. Some teenagers are also ready for contact lenses, where maturity and hygiene matter far more than age.
NHS-funded eye examinations in Scotland are available to everyone living in the UK, and children under 16 are entitled to one annually rather than every two years. Optical vouchers towards the cost of glasses are also available for children. Our page on free eye tests in Scotland sets out the detail.
So for most families the examination itself is not the barrier. Remembering to book it is.
Book your comprehensive eye examination or eyewear styling consultation with
Mosspark Opticians today.
Around three is a common first appointment, and earlier if there is any concern or a family history of eye problems in childhood. There is no minimum age. A child does not need to be able to read or even to talk to us, because testing uses matching games, picture charts and objective techniques that do not require a spoken response.
Yes. This is the most common misconception and it delays a great many first appointments. We use matching games, symbols a child can point at, and objective methods that measure how the eye focuses without needing any response at all. A three-year-old can have a thorough examination.
Yes. NHS-funded eye examinations in Scotland are available to everyone living in the UK, and children under 16 are entitled to one annually rather than every two years. Optical vouchers towards the cost of glasses are also available for children, so cost is rarely the barrier.
Yes. A screening is designed to catch obvious distance vision problems and does that reasonably well, but it does not assess how the two eyes work together, how quickly they change focus, or the health of the eye. Children pass screenings while having something worth finding, particularly focusing and coordination problems.
Look at behaviour rather than waiting for a complaint. Sitting close to screens, losing interest in reading, squinting at the board, copying errors, headaches after school, or avoiding ball sports are all worth acting on. Children rarely identify a vision problem themselves because they have no baseline for comparison.
Annually for under-16s, which is what the NHS entitlement in Scotland reflects. Sooner if you notice any of the signs above, if their prescription has been changing, or after any knock to the eye. Children’s eyes change faster than adults’, which is why the interval is shorter.
Myopia management covers approaches that aim to slow the progression of short sight in children rather than simply correcting it with a stronger prescription each year. It is worth discussing if your child’s prescription has increased noticeably year on year. Starting earlier consistently produces more benefit than starting later.
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