Obtaining a good eye exam on a child can be challenging. Extra patience and experience are often required to be able to determine how well a child is seeing and what, if any, treatment is needed. Because the first few years of life are critical to visual development, it is very important that childhood eye problems be diagnosed and treated correctly and in a timely manner. If not treated early enough, some of these problems can result in permanently reduced vision.

One of the most common childhood eye problems is amblyopia. It is estimated that 2-4% of the population has or has had amblyopia. This means that there is 1 child in almost every school classroom who has amblyopia. Amblyopia is a condition where the vision in one eye has not developed well due to that eye having an excessive degree of far-sightedness or astigmatism. Amblyopia can also be caused by misaligned eyes (strabismus) and other eye problems. The critical issue is that amblyopia can only be treated in childhood.  If not treated when a person is young, the vision loss becomes permanent and cannot be improved when the person is older.

The term “lazy eye” is sometimes used in place of amblyopia. “Lazy eye” is also used though to describe an eye that drifts out (a type of strabismus) or an eye with a drooping upper eyelid. Because lazy eye has so many potential meanings, the medical term amblyopia is preferred to describe an eye with poor vision due to problems with visual development.