How to Test Your Child's Vision

Monitoring your child’s vision is an important task for any parent. Although checkups by a physician are integral to good eye health, it is not the only thing that should be done. You can replicate a simple doctor's office test to monitor your child’s eyesight.

1. Create an eyesight chart that is similar to the one that your child would read at a doctor's office. This can be done several different ways, however, the simplest way is to print one from your computer. Several reputable websites, such as the site for Prevent Blindness America, have charts that you can print out and hang on a wall in your home. The chart should be hung at eye level with the child you will be testing.


2. Place a marker ten feet away from the wall on which you hung the chart. Make sure that the distance is exactly 10 feet. If your measurements are off, the results of the test will be skewed.


3. Have your child stand behind the marker and cover one eye with their hand. Then, have them read the chart from top to bottom. Mark the level on the chart where the child begins to struggle. Follow the exact same procedure with the other eye as well.


4. Take the chart and compare the results that you marked with the test key from the website that you took the chart from. If you find any anomalous scores, consider having your child seen by an ophthalmologist soon.