The province’s Healthy Smiles, Clear Vision program is being expanded in 2018, and this will mean free eye exams and corrective glasses for all four year olds who are not covered by a public or private health insurance program.
The New Brunswick Association of Optometrists recommends that a child have at least one eye exam before starting school.
Dr. Amy Robinson says it’s important that any visual issues are detected to ensure children can learn, “If you’re not seeing well, you’re not able to learn as easily. Children may see well, but they may actually be straining their eyes to see well, and the thing is with children, they have nothing to compare their vision to. They assume that how they see is normal, so they often don’t have any complaints to their parents.”
25 per cent of children have a vision problem, which could be blurry vision or eye strain.
The expanded program will be available beginning on April 1st..