The start to school is the perfect time to schedule a sight test. Especially booking and appointment with your local eye doctor for kids. What better way to make sure your child isn’t going to have limitations because of their vision during their school year.
It is reccomended to have your eyes tested yearly, every two years minimum you should be going in to have your eyes checked to be sure you are monitoring and maintaining the health of your eyes. It’s also important to know that children can be tested as early as 6 months of age.
Photo by Julie Christine Photography | Post in partnership with IRIS
Booking Our Eye Appointments
All it took was a quick call to our local IRIS location and they were able to schedule our appointments over the phone. There is also the option to book your eye appointment online.
Care Card numbers are required at the time of booking and be prepared for each appointment to be about 30-45 minutes in length. If booking at the Abbotsford IRIS location for your children and yourself there is a large play area and TV for children to entertain themselves.
Sophie’s Eye Appointment
I was nervous walking into the appointment. My husband and I had both wondered if Sophie needed glasses in the past and her last eye tests (from another Optometrist) came back inconclusive. Was she going to be able to be tested properly? Was the optometrist going to connect well with her? Will she need glasses?
So many thoughts were going through my mind but they were very quickly brought to ease. Her exam started with some images of her eyes, that were super quick and easy. The lady that did these tests communicated well to her what she needed to do making it a breeze.
Once that was complete we entered into the optometrist office. Here Sophie was put into the big comfy chair and asked to follow her finger along the different coloured spots that created numbers. Since she does not know what all her numbers are yet, this is a great way for her to still complete the test without knowing. Throughout the whole process the Dr. continued to carry a conversation with her to keep her engaged and confident in the task.
After moving into the next test of recognizing shapes upon the wall again she was continually engaged and encouraged. Her attention span isn’t super long but the continued prompting was just what she needed to complete the test with ease.
…and deep breath, she was done! Sophie does not need glasses! Even though she was personally wanting to leave with a pair of glasses I felt so relieved. This was the easiest eye test I’ve taken any child to. It was over and above previous experiences at other businesses, which was noticeably because of how the Dr. interacted with Sophie. Continued affirmations and guidance on each step.
Thankful for healthy eyes and were reminded to come back again in two years to have her checked again.
My Eye Appointment
Sophie and I had our appointments back to back, it made for a really quick and easy process. While Sophie started her testing with the optometrist I had images taken of my eyes at the back of the office.
This only took a few minutes and the I joined Sophie with the optometrist. After she was finished it was my turn. Since it was also my first time getting my eyes tested at IRIS we went through questions of family history, any changes in vision, health and more. It’s so important for your optometrist to ask these questions and get to know your specific needs.
During my eye test I felt at ease and very well guided. I never felt rushed and could tell that the proper care and attention was being given. Once complete I was informed of my prescription.
My presciption has actually slightly decreased!
I wasn’t expecting that. I was able to talk to the eye doctor about how this happens and if it makes a difference to wearing the glasses that I have right now. Since the decrease is actually quite minimal I was assured that what I currently have is still good to continue using, though if purchasing new glasses I should use my updated prescription.
I’ve been needed to get new frames and lenses as my current pair has several scratches so we continued to discuss the best options. We chatted about what I did for work and how I use computers a lot there is actually a special coating I can have applied to my lenses to protect my eyes from blue light.
As we continued to talk I asked about what would be the best option for me while playing soccer. You guys.. I’ve been playing soccer half blind because I haven’t looked into anything else for my eyes yet. Not the best, I know. Because I don’t mind wearing glasses we were able to chat logistics and the Dr. suggested that I book an appointment to learn more about using daily use contact lenses. Which is actually something a couple other girls on my team also recommended.
I was also informed that because my prescription isn’t too large and the current health of my eyes are good that I would be a perfect candidate for laser eye surgery. Something I will need to think about.
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Choosing Frames for My Face
Now here’s the fun part. Finding new frames for my face. I tried on multiple pairs the day of my appointment but I still haven’t narrowed down my favorite style. Below are my three current favorites, I ended up going with the second pair featured thanks to your votes on Instagram.
[…] Learn more about booking appointments for yourself and your children here. […]