Can children be long sighted?
Yes, and mild long sightedness is common in young children, whose eyes focus well enough to compensate for it. Most grow out of it as the eye lengthens. A young child with a high prescription may need glasses, because the effort of compensating can affect how the eyes work together.
- Subject
- Vision problems
- Topic
- Hyperopia (long sightedness)
- Kind of question
- Can I…
- Last reviewed
- 22 September 2026
In more detail
A child who compensates well will not complain, which is why the finding usually comes from a routine examination rather than from a parent noticing something. That is one of the arguments for testing children before school rather than waiting for a symptom.
What this answer depends on
- The size of the prescription
- Whether the eyes are straight and working together
- Whether vision is reduced even with the correction in place
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Where this answer sits
It is one of 483 answers in the vision and eye health knowledge base, filed under Vision problems & prescriptions in Hyperopia (long sightedness) . The subject page carries the answers either side of it, and the hub is searchable.
Subjects this question touches
The pages that answer the subject behind the question, rather than the question itself.
- Condition Hyperopia (long sightedness)
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
General answers cannot tell you what is happening in your own eyes. Only an examination by a qualified ophthalmologist can do that.
Sources & further reading
We prefer primary sources. Where a claim comes from a manufacturer, a single study or a regulator, it is labelled as such below.
- EyeSmart: eye health information for the public
Patient-facing material from the largest ophthalmology professional body, covering conditions, tests and treatments outside refractive surgery.
Used for Cross-checking patient-facing explanations of non-refractive eye conditions; Describing what tests such as dilation and OCT involve.
Link checked 23 September 2026