VSP Blog

Dr. Kisling is a VSP network optometrist practicing in Ft. Collins, CO.

Is your preschooler or kindergartner ready for their first eye exam? There are critical times to have eye check ups, and this is when you as a parent typically start to have concerns that your child can see his or her best. The onset of the school year brings in many young children to the eye doctor’s office for the first time. Some of them are very anxious because their experience with doctors has normally been associated with sickness and pain.

You can help alleviate your child’s anxiety about going to see the optometrist with six easy steps:

1. Explain this is a fun type of doctor’s office without shots. Advise them they will need to answer a few questions as best as they can and there are no right or wrong answers. Assure them if they do need glasses they will get to help pick out colors and shapes they like. If they need vision correction, give them some ownership of the process. If it is determined they need glasses, make positive statements of how much they will enjoy seeing the leaves on the trees and their favorite movies.
2. Prepare them for eye drops. You can refer to them as tickle drops that make their eyes tickle for a few seconds. Yes, they do sting briefly, but when I tell children they will probably tickle a few seconds that is what usually happens. Right after drops are put in the eye I start asking children questions to distract them for the first minute or so. If they are thinking about something and answering questions they don’t feel the drops. You can do the same thing by barraging them with questions that have happy answers. Read more »