"It can harm their development": a quarter of children have never had a vision screening

According to the Visual Health Barometer published each year by the National Association for the Improvement of Sight, more than a quarter of parents (27%) have never had their children undergo a vision screening.

Worse still, 16% of parents of children aged 0 to 12 report not having consulted an ophthalmologist despite a positive screening. This lack of care can have dramatic consequences for children's development.

Nicolas comes to pick up his son in front of this school in Rennes. He himself suffered from a disease as a child that deprived him of an eye. He had his son screened at 8 months old. “The sooner it's caught, the better. I didn't want my son to be blind in one eye like me,” he confides.

Like most of the parents we met, Florence also took her children to the ophthalmologist even though she doubts the effectiveness of these tests on very young children.

“Ask them to see a cat, a house… They are so shy that we don’t know if they can see, if they can’t see well. It’s not very precise,” she emphasizes.

However, according to Pauline, an optician in Rennes, these screenings are crucial. “We are increasingly realizing that parents who come with their children are a bit shocked when they discover that their children need correction. You have to automatically make an appointment when the child is young to get an initial assessment and not wait until it is too late,” she assures.

Because poor vision can have consequences on children's development.

“Before the age of six, it will hinder normal development. After the age of six, if your child doesn’t see well, they will have difficulty developing harmoniously in class,” says orthoptist Véronique Morin.

According to the National Association for the Improvement of Vision, nearly one in two children suffers from vision problems.