First up, the good news. If you live in the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) has your back like a very generous, slightly bureaucratic friend. For the little ones, it’s a total free-for-all. Kids under 16 (and under 19 if they’re in full-time education) get free eye tests. Think of it as a right of passage, like getting your first pair of Harry Potter glasses.
It’s genius, really. Catching a squint or a lazy eye early saves a world of trouble (and probably stops them from bumping into the coffee table during a game of hide-and-seek). If your kid is claiming they can’t see the whiteboard at school, don’t wait. The test costs you nothing but time, and the payoff is a kid who can actually see the football coming.
Now, for the rest of us, it gets a little trickier, like trying to fold a fitted sheet. For the average adult between 16 and 59, eye tests are not free. You pay the full whack, which usually feels like you’re financing a small, elegant space program for your eyeballs.
