Kids get anxious before their first eye exams (and so do parents). But best to always be truthful! Here are some other tips. 1️⃣Show them the doctor’s website - what he or she looks like, what the office is like - this will help reduce their anxiety because it will make it more familiar when they arrive 2️⃣ Bring a lovie or stuffed animal. Often I will “examine” a teddy bear or lovie’s eyes first before moving on to the child. The headset I use can look scary and when they see it on the someone or something else first, it helps! 3️⃣ Know that there are options. If your child is on the spectrum or really cannot stand eye drops, then there are ways to break up the eye exam into two parts. But to be honest, it’s quite rare that I (or now my staff) cannot dilate a kid. 4️⃣ Prepare your childwith the steps of the eye exam. I wrote a whole blog post about this with photos so you can review this with your child beforehand. Comment BLOG below if you want to get a link to my blog post detailing how to prepare your child for their eye exam . . . . #ophthalmology #eyedoctor #pediatricophthalmologist #eyeexam #parenting #pediatrics