More than a third of children in the East Midlands haven’t had their sight tested at an optician

An eye-care specialists is telling us it's vital children get their eyes tested before they reach school age to help give them the best of quality of life possible.

A third of parents in the East Midlands say not realising how early their child’s eyes should be tested stopping them from taking them sooner - according to research by the College of Optometrists.

"We don't look after our eyes very well, as a society"

Ed Adkins, eye-care specialist says: "The human eye develops our vision up the age of seven or eight or sometimes a little later.

"For the eye to develop good vision it needs to have sharp focus. If somebody develops an issue with that and it isn't fix quickly, then the eye won't give enough vision.

"We don't look after our eyes very well, as a society. For me, that's got to be down to a lack of awareness or publicity, as only half of adults get their eyes tested. Sending reminders out to parents, would go a long way."

He told us what 'eye-tests' involve:

"We go through any symptoms or concerns that parents or the child might be having. We also look at family history, as that can be very important to telling us if a condition or something like a lazy eye could be passed down."

Data for the East Midlands shows:

• More than a third (38%) of children in the East Midlands haven’t had their sight tested at an optician.

• Average age for a child to have their eyes tested in the East Midlands is 5.

• 42% of parents believe their child’s eyes would have been permanently damaged without an eye test that detected an issue.

• 1 in 5 (30%) rely on school screenings to check their child’s eyes.

• A third (33%) say not realising how early their child’s eyes should be tested stopping them from taking them sooner.

The wider findings:

According to experts- ensuring children’s eyes are checked regularly from an early age will help in detecting and preventing problems that could cause long-term damage to their vision.

Eye tests are free for children under 16 and the process is both simple and pain-free.

Although nearly half (48%) of parents have had issues with their own eyes, 15% admit they have never had their child’s eyes checked.

Half (49%) of parents who had been diagnosed with an eyesight issue, or suspected they had an undiagnosed eyesight issue, said they rarely or never had their eyesight checked when they were a child.

Of the 85% of children who have had some form of eye test, 1 in 5 (20%) have been diagnosed with a lazy eye, over a third (37%) are shortsighted.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.