Deon Hattingh Optometrist

Deon Hattingh Optometrist Optometrist with a Passion for Pediatric Optometry, Sports Vision and Vision Therapy.

It’s a frustrating hurdle that many active kids face. One of our 9-year-old patients loved cricket and rugby but found h...
23/06/2026

It’s a frustrating hurdle that many active kids face. One of our 9-year-old patients loved cricket and rugby but found his spectacles were creating major barriers.

His glasses would fog up under his helmet, and he ended up removing them entirely during rugby matches—making it incredibly difficult to see the ball clearly.

The solution? Contact lenses.

With a little help from his mother, who inserts the lenses in the morning and removes them in the afternoon, his sporting experience and quality of life have completely transformed.

Although many medical aids only contribute to contact lenses from age 15, younger children can wear them safely. It isn't about a single magic age; it's about maturity, lifestyle, and parental support.

In our latest blog post, "Contact Lenses for Children: What Parents Need to Know", we cover:
👉 When lenses are recommended (including myopia control & high prescriptions).
👉 Critical safety guidelines (no sleeping in lenses, avoiding tap water, and using sealed swim goggles).
👉 How to assess if your child is ready.

Sometimes the best vision solution is not simply seeing more clearly. Sometimes it is about helping a child participate more fully in life. 🌟

Read the full article here: https://deonoptom.co.za/2026/06/09/contact-lenses-for-children-what-parents-need-to-know/?utm_source=Website&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=children%2520contacts

💬 Does your child struggle with their glasses during sports or outdoor play? Let us know in the comments!

23/06/2026

Most parents are surprised when I suggest contact lenses for a 9-year-old. 👇

One of my young patients played cricket and rugby — but his glasses fogged up under his helmet, and he'd remove them completely during matches, playing without clear vision.

Contact lenses changed that. With his mom's help (insertion in the morning, removal in the afternoon), his sports experience has transformed.

Children can wear lenses safely — it's not about age, it's about maturity, lifestyle, and the right parental support.

Read the full guide — link in bio.

📍 Houghton Estate, Johannesburg | 📞 066 458 7028

16/06/2026

If your child constantly loses their place or skips words and lines while reading, it could be a clear sign of an eye tracking difficulty rather than a learning hurdle. To effectively mitigate these tracking issues, we frequently use an exercise called four square saccades during vision therapy programmes.

Saccades are the quick, brisk eye movements required to jump seamlessly from one word or line to the next when reading text. While this specific visual tracking exercise can sometimes be tricky for a child to master initially, we always build up their skills with basic foundational exercises before introducing the four square setup.

To keep the therapy dynamic and continuously challenge their development, the letter charts can be arranged in different orientations and progressively spaced further apart as their accuracy improves. By training the eyes to make precise, agile movements, children can significantly improve their reading fluency and classroom confidence.

Want to know if a lack of visual stamina is holding your child back at school? Book a consultation with an optometrist today to discuss a tailored vision therapy programme.

16/06/2026

Children can absolutely wear contact lenses, especially if they are highly active in sports or extracurricular activities. While contact lenses offer immense freedom on the sports field or inside the training ring, determining if they are right for your child depends largely on their individual maturity and specific vision needs.

Beyond convenience during high-energy activities, contact lenses are frequently prescribed for children to assist with myopia control, helping to actively manage and slow down the progression of short-sightedness as they grow.

If your child is constantly on the move and struggles with spectacles getting in the way, it might be time to explore their options. Book a comprehensive consultation with us to assess their visual tracking, discuss peripheral vision development, and find the perfect, active-friendly vision solution for their needs.

📍 Visit us in-store to chat with our eye care team.
🔗 Click the link in our bio to book a comprehensive children’s eye test today.

09/06/2026

If your child is a slow reader or struggles to copy words from the board at school, they may be experiencing accommodative dysfunction rather than a simple learning difficulty. When a child presents with these specific focus challenges, we often use a HART chart during vision therapy sessions to actively train how the lens inside the eye focuses.

This simple yet effective eye exercise alternates between near and distant targets to systematically stimulate and relax the eye muscles. Over time, this targeted training builds the stamina and flexibility needed to shift focus smoothly between a desk and the classroom board without causing eye strain or a loss of concentration.

Because consistency is key, practicing this exercise for just a few minutes every day can make a massive difference in how comfortably your child navigates their schoolwork. If you notice your child lagging behind with reading speed or constantly complaining of blurry vision while studying, it might be time to look beyond standard glasses.

Keen to know how vision therapy could help your child thrive in the classroom? Book a consultation with an optometrist today to explore a tailored visual training programme.

02/06/2026

We are testing stereopsis, or 3D depth perception, during a comprehensive eye exam here at Deon Hattingh Optometrist in Houghton Estate to ensure your brain and eyes are working perfectly together. This essential test checks how well your brain fuses the slightly different images it receives from each eye into a single, three-dimensional view.

If you have ever taken off your glasses during a 3D movie and noticed a blurry shadow around the screen, you are actually seeing those two separate 2-dimensional images. When you put the glasses back on, your brain fuses them to create the illusion of depth, allowing you to easily judge distances and see what is in front of or behind an object.

When someone lacks proper depth perception, it can lead to clumsiness, difficulty parking, or the inability to see the difference between 2D and 3D movies. This lack of 3D vision is typically caused by:

- Uncorrected refractive errors, most commonly farsightedness.
- Strabismus or a squint, even a very slight deviation of the eyes.
- Binocular vision dysfunction, where the eyes struggle to work as a team.

Prioritise your eye health and book an assessment with us today.

Working with children is just so joyful.
23/05/2026

Working with children is just so joyful.

21/05/2026

Why does your eye prescription keep increasing year after year?

If you notice your vision getting blurrier despite wearing your glasses, it is typically driven by natural eye growth in children, age-related presbyopia after forty, or persistent digital eye strain from screen exposure. At Deon Hattingh Optometrist, we focus on identifying the root cause through tailored care like vision therapy and dry eye management at our Houghton Estate practice.

Understanding these changes helps you plan your family's long-term eye health:

- Paediatric Eye Growth: Children's eyes grow rapidly, which frequently alters how light focuses on the retina and accelerates myopia.

- Adult Lens Flexibility: Around the age of forty, the internal lens naturally becomes less flexible, making close-up tasks more challenging.

- Digital Environments: Intense near work on computers triggers focus fatigue, which mimics prescription shifts.

- Systemic Health Metrics: Conditions like changing glucose levels or severe dry eyes can cause sudden, noticeable shifts in visual clarity.

Regular check-ups allow our optometrists to monitor these trends accurately. Click the link below to read our detailed guide and discover how to manage your vision effectively.

Shout out to my newest followers! Excited to have you onboard! Dana Webb, Veronique Kruger
21/05/2026

Shout out to my newest followers! Excited to have you onboard! Dana Webb, Veronique Kruger

Address

Block A, 65 Central Street, Houghton Estate
Johannesburg
2198

Opening Hours

Monday 10:00 - 16:00
Tuesday 10:00 - 16:00
Thursday 10:00 - 16:00
Friday 10:00 - 16:00

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