A quarter of children aged four to 16 have never had an eye test, new research by Specsavers has revealed.
The company, which surveyed parents of children in this age bracket, also found that one in five also had not had an eye test in two years or longer.
This is despite over a quarter (26 per cent ) of parents saying their child had experienced problems at school which could be linked to vision. The most common issues raised includes struggling to see the interactive whiteboard (37 per cent ), having to move to the front of the classroom to see (33 per cent ) or experiencing headaches (28 per cent ).
Little progress has been made in the last 15 years as research carried out by Specsavers in 2009, showed just under a quarter (23 per cent ) of children aged between three and 12 had never had an eye test.
The latest survey found the most common reasons parents haven’t taken their child for an eye test is because they have no visible problems (35 per cent ) or haven’t mentioned a problem (22 per cent ). Other reasons include parents not being advised that their child needs an eye test (21 per cent ) or knowing at what age they should have one (15 per cent ).
"A lot of parents assume that because their child doesn't display any signs of a vision problem, there's no need to have their eyes tested," said Specsavers Knocknacarra ophthalmic director Anne-Ita McLongley. "However, this couldn't be further from the truth.
"Ensuring your child has regular eye examinations from an early age is incredibly important for several reasons. Given more than 80 per cent of our learning, cognitive and social abilities are facilitated through our sight, it's extremely important to your child's overall development.
"Poor eyesight can cause learning and behavioural problems. Conditions such as squinting and amblyopia [lazy eye] can be treated more effectively if they are picked up earlier, which could make a huge difference to your child. An eye test doesn’t just check vision. It can also detect other underlying health conditions."
The research also found that during school holidays, parents have a back-to-school list of around six tasks, including buying new school unforms (57 per cent ), shoe fittings (45 per cent ) and stationary shopping (40 per cent ). However, eye tests rank near the bottom of the pile (20 per cent ), alongside dental checks (22 per cent ) with both only prioritised by a fifth of parents.
"We understand how many things parents have to think about, especially during the summer holidays and before the new school year starts," Ms McLongley added. "By conducting this research, we hope we’ve put eye tests on parents' radars as they play a significant role in setting children up for a happy and fulfilling school life.
The research also found children are reluctant to get their eyes tested. Over a third (35 per cent ) are scared or worried or think it will hurt, just under a third (30 per cent ) don’t know what to expect and one in five (20 per cent ) fear the dark.
To combat this, Specsavers is looking at ways to make a visit to the opticians more fun with the launch of its friendly ‘Optomonsters’. Customers will start to notice the Optomonsters popping up in stores nationwide soon.
