Welcome to Northwest Pediatric Eye Care
We're focused on your child's vision!
At Northwest Pediatric Eye Care, we specialize in providing expert eye care for infants, children, and teenagers. Our practice focuses on comprehensive and compassionate care, ensuring the visual health and well-being of young patients from infancy to their teenage years. Our team embraces a child-friendly approach, creating a comfortable and supportive environment for our young patients and their families.
Comprehensive Eye Exam
Comprehensive eye exams are critical for infants and young children because vision plays a key role in learning and development. Many vision issues, like poor focus or eye coordination, can go unnoticed but significantly impact reading, attention, and classroom performance. When these problems are caught early, they can often be treated—helping children learn more effectively and feel more confident. Clear vision also supports healthy social interaction, which is essential for building self-esteem as they grow.
Vision Therapy
Vision therapy is a program of customized eye exercises that helps strengthen the connection between the eyes and brain, improving visual skills like tracking, focusing, and coordination. It's especially important for children because these skills are essential for reading, writing, and other classroom tasks. When vision problems go untreated, kids may struggle in school or avoid activities they find difficult, which can affect both learning and self-esteem. Vision therapy helps address the root of these challenges, allowing children to reach their full potential academically and socially.
Myopia Control
Myopia control refers to treatments that slow the progression of nearsightedness (myopia) in children. It matters because rapidly worsening myopia can increase the risk of serious eye problems later in life, such as retinal detachment, glaucoma, and macular degeneration. By starting early, myopia control can help protect a child’s long-term vision and reduce their dependence on stronger glasses or contacts as they grow.
Contact Lenses
Helping kids transition to contact lenses isn’t just about improving their vision—it can also boost their confidence and self-esteem. For many children, being free from glasses helps them feel more comfortable in social settings and more active in sports or other activities, all while still supporting their eye health.
Eye Safety
Eye safety is incredibly important to parents because protecting their child's vision means safeguarding their future. Children are more prone to eye injuries due to underdeveloped depth perception, fearless play, and limited coordination, especially during sports or rough play. For parents, knowing their child’s eyes are protected brings peace of mind—not only to prevent immediate harm, but also to avoid long-term vision problems that could impact learning, confidence, and quality of life. Taking steps to ensure eye safety is a simple but powerful way to invest in a child’s lifelong well-being.
Meet the Doctor
Dr. Karen Preston, OD
Dr. Karen L. Preston, OD, is a highly respected pediatric optometrist with over 40 years of experience devoted exclusively to children’s vision. Her practice, Northwest Pediatric Eye Care, is dedicated to all stages of visual development.
Known for her gentle manner, deep expertise, and genuine compassion, Dr. Preston takes time to listen and observe, making every child (and their family) feel seen, heard, and fully supported. She has special interest and training in early childhood visual development, and is skilled in assessing vision in infants, toddlers, and children with special needs.
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Dr. Preston is a graduate of the College of Optometry at Pacific University, with post-doctoral research in infant vision at the University of Washington.
She has worked closely with the Washington State Legislature and the national InfantSEE program to raise awareness about the importance of early vision care. A past president of the Optometric Physicians of Washington, Dr. Preston founded Northwest Pediatric Eye Care as a premier practice dedicated solely to pediatric vision.
Contact
14715 Bel-Red Road, Suite G202, Bellevue, WA 98007
425-732-6056
425-732-6059
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