Pediatric Eye Exams at Shady Grove Eye and Vision Care
Caring for your child's vision is paramount, and it begins with a pediatric eye exam. At Shady Grove Eye and Vision Care in Rockville, we prioritize pediatric eye care, employing advanced child-friendly methods and compassionate eye doctors who comprehend the distinct requirements of young patients.

Eye care experts say that 80% of what a child learns is through their vision. So, if your child has vision problems that go unnoticed, it can impact their learning, especially in their early years when they rely heavily on their sight to explore the world.
Beyond assessing how clear a child’s vision is and detecting eye conditions like myopia, eye exams also evaluate essential visual skills required for learning and mobility. These include binocular vision (how the eyes work together), focusing, peripheral vision, color vision, hand-eye coordination, and tracking.
During the eye exam, share any pertinent personal history with the optometrist, including details like premature birth, developmental delays, a family history of eye issues, past eye injuries, existing health conditions, or medications. The exam is also the perfect opportunity to discuss any concerns or problems your child may be experiencing, which could indicate a vision issue.
Monitoring Your Child's Vision: Milestones and Concerns at Different Ages

Eye Exams in Infants: Birth-24 Months
A baby's visual system develops gradually over the first few months. They must learn to focus, move their eyes, and coordinate them as a team. Additionally, their brain needs to process visual information to understand and interact with the world around them. Proper eyesight development lays the foundation for essential motor skills like crawling, walking, and hand-eye coordination.
We recommend requesting the first eye exam from 6 to 12 months, even if they have no visible vision problems.
Eye Check-Up in Preschool
Children: Ages 2-5
Toddlers and preschoolers undergo significant growth in intellectual and motor skills. During this period, they develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and perceptual abilities — all essential for reading, writing, sports, and creative activities like drawing. Good vision and visual processes are critical for these skills to flourish.
Parents should remain watchful for signs of lazy eye (amblyopia) or crossed eyes (strabismus) because early treatment leads to more effective outcomes. Additionally, be attentive to developmental delays related to object, number, color, or letter recognition.
If you observe your child squinting, frequently rubbing their eyes, sitting unusually close to the TV or reading materials, or avoiding activities such as puzzles and coloring, request a consultation with an eye doctor. Early intervention can make a significant difference in their eye health and development.


- Tilting the head to one side while reading
- Losing their place often while reading
- Double vision
- Poor reading comprehension
Vision therapy can help children with problems like focusing, reading, eye teamwork, and hand-eye coordination by improving their vision and how their eyes work together.
Eye Exams in School-Aged
Kids: Ages 6-18
Undetected or uncorrected vision issues can affect a child's academic, social, athletic, and personal life. If your child has difficulties in school, it might be rooted in underlying vision problems.
Unfortunately, numerous children may struggle to communicate their vision problems effectively, resulting in a child being disinterested in school and a misdiagnosis of behavioral issues, ADHD, or a learning disability. Additional signs of vision problems in older children include:
- A short attention span
- Headaches
- Frequent blinking
- Avoidance of reading