Six-year-olds with a squint less likely to be invited to birthday parties

As if life couldn’t be more tricky for youngsters with eye issues, researchers have now decided that six year olds with a squint are less likely to be invited to birthday parties.

According to Swiss researchers, corrective surgery should be carried out before the age of six as this is when discrimination by their peers starts emerging.

The research published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, digitally altered images of twins and asked 118 children between the ages of 3 and 23 to select which they would be invite to their birthday party.

Children younger than six years of age didn’t appear to discriminate against those with a squint, whilst those older than six did.

The researchers say that a childhood squint can have a ‘lasting psychological impact’ due to the way they are perceived by their peers.