MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, October 02, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ — The College of Optometrists is forecasting that more than three million UK children will develop myopia by the age of 18. The projection came out this year and has got people talking, mainly because short-sightedness in kids slips past so easily. A child rarely says their eyesight has changed. Half the time they haven’t noticed either.
Dr Paramdeep Bilkhu, a clinical advisor at the College, says myopia can have a lasting effect on a child’s eye health, learning and development. The College wants parents to hear that sooner rather than later, ideally before the problem has properly taken hold.
The trend itself isn’t new. Earlier research from the College and Ulster University found myopia is now more than twice as common in UK children as it was in the 1960s, and that it most often starts somewhere between the ages of six and thirteen. Screens get most of the blame, along with fewer hours spent outdoors. Lockdown made both worse.
“Most parents I speak to don’t see it as a vision problem at first,” said Sid Sethi, founder of Manchester-based eyewear brand Specscart. “It’s a kid sat too close to the telly, or a book held right up against their nose, or a child who says they can’t read the school whiteboard. Everyone assumes it’s a phase. Sometimes it is. Often it isn’t, and you can’t tell by looking at them.”
Optometrists give fairly consistent advice. Book a first sight test around age four, keep up the follow-ups even when nothing seems wrong, and watch for squinting, headaches after screen time or a child sitting far too close to things. Time outdoors gets mentioned a lot as well, since it’s one of the few habits linked to slowing myopia down.
If a child is found to be short-sighted, the next step is usually simple. A proper pair of prescription glasses, fitted early, helps them see the board and get on with school like everyone else. Waiting rarely helps.
If there’s one thing I’d want parents to take away from this, it’s that nipping this in the bud is easy. Book an eye test. If your child needs prescription glasses, get them. Then keep checking every so often. Look after their eyes with an eye test as you’d look after their teeth at the dentist.
About Specscart.
Optical disruptor Specscart is a fast-growing eyewear brand that designs fashionable glasses that are 70% cheaper than the high street, proudly made in-house at its state-of-the-art glazing lab in Manchester and then sold to customers in their three bricks-and-mortar shops and online. Its hallmarks are 24-hr dispatch, clear and transparent pricing and try-before-you-buy home trials on its quality specs, sunglasses and sports eyewear range. Specscart’s free worldwide shipping has won it customers in 132 different countries worldwide…. And counting. With free eye tests for all, 2,000-plus styles and the widest lens bank in the UK, it’s on a mission to change the way we see eyewear forever– from sight correction to fashion-focused.To find out more, visit www.specscart.co.uk.
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