At the clinic, many parents are reluctant to dilate their children’s pupils and instead go to the optician to try on their own glasses. This is inappropriate. If your child has poor or declining vision, your doctor will need to dilate the pupils to determine the nature of the refractive error (myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism are collectively referred to as refractive error). 2. If you want to get glasses, you should get an accurate prescription after the pupil dilatation test. Children over 10-12 years old can have their pupils dilated quickly, and the results can be produced on the same day. Children under 10-12 years old need to have their pupils dilated chronically, and need to order atropine eye ointment for 3 days before they can have their initial exam. 4. After dilatation, children are afraid of light and do not see clearly in the near distance. The fast dilated pupil will recover in about 8 hours, and the chronic dilated pupil will last for about 3 weeks. The symptoms are a function of the medication, and the child will just feel uncomfortable, but it will not cause harm to the child.