Hi barney8!

My child did not complain to us that he couldn't see. He did not bum into things while walking, had no problem looking for us in the shopping malls and could still watch TV at more than 3m distance. All these were done without squinting of his eyes. So we were shocked by his high degree of short-sightedness as well. But the optician asked about the size of the TV which is 40inch and explained that 40inch can still be viewed comfortably from a distance. However, if there is anything that i would like to comment on, it will be that he tilted his head and looked at things from the corners of his eyes. Obliviously to us, that is actually a sign that the child can't see: according to the optician, cuz children do not understand why their vision is blurred, so they thought that by tilting their heads and looking at things from a different angle, it will clear the \"blurred zone\". Now that my child is wearing specs, he no longer tilts his head. Hope that helps!

Hi all!


Just to share my experience here specially to those parents who are unsure about the accuracy of HPB's prescriptions and for those keen in Myovision lens.

Last year, my son was being referred to HPB for eye-check for myopia, he was k1 then. It was prescribed that he was short-sighted. Right 175, left 100. Hubby and i decided not to let him wear specs as we weren't sure how accurate was the prescription as DS was not very fluent with his ABCs then. We understand that pictures will be used for such cases, but DS was not very comfortable with the eye-check environment and the optometrist, so he wasn't very cooperative in his answers. Moreover, he did not squint his eyes while looking at things which were far and neither did he complain that he couldn't see the board in class.

Fast forward one year now and he went for the HPB eye-check again. Right 325, left 275. We finally brought him to an optical shop to have a second opinion and if needed, prescribe specs. Went to Spectacles Hut and DS was asked to look into a machine [now then i know that the machine is to give the optician a rough gauge (80% accuracy) of the child's eyes degree]. DS then went for the eye-chart reading test in the room. [note: if you decide not to prescript specs after this test, you will be charged $25 for it] Results: Right 350, left 250. Was told that a difference in prescription of 25degrees is considered normal.

Verdict: We regret that the stubborn us did not prescribe specs for DS last year. The HPB test is accurate even for children who are not fluent in ABCs.

We went ahead with the optician's suggestion to prescribe Myovision for DS, cuz was thinking we should do the best that we could as parents. Prices: $248 for the thicker lens, $360 for the thinner (hence lighter), break-resistant lens, as quoted by the optician. Both types are plastic lens, have UV protection (or was it anti-glare?) and anti-scratch. We chose the latter. They are currently having a promotion, the frame comes free with the lens for those who are keen. Was asked to go back for a free eye-check in 9-12months time. Will update again. Fingers crossed that there will be minimal increase in the powers.