We’ll show who treats it and what it costs.
12 Orynbor St. Look for the blue façade with the eye sign.
How the first visit to the eye doctor goes
Children aren’t afraid of the doctor, they’re afraid of the unknown. Flip through this story with your child in the evening — and tomorrow everything in the doctor’s room will already feel familiar.
Through a child’s eyes 1 of 9
1Today Mum and I are going to the place where they check eyes. Doctor Aliya Kairgeldinovna will meet us — here she is. There won’t be any injections.
For you. Tell your child ahead of time, and honestly, where you’re going. “We’re just going for a walk” doesn’t work: a child who’s been fooled won’t believe you next time. The visit is at BABY EYE CLINIC, 2A Syganak St.
2First the doctor will say hello and talk with Mum. You sit next to her and show the doctor your toy.
For you. The doctor will ask what you’ve noticed, how your child reads and sits with the phone, and who in the family wears glasses. Bring previous glasses and medical records.
3There will be pictures on the wall: a house, an apple, a star, a car. Cover one eye with your hand and say what you see. Then — with the other eye.
For you. Preschoolers are shown pictures instead of letters. Each eye is checked separately: that’s how you see whether one is lagging behind.
4Then we’ll look into a little window. Far, far away there’s a picture. Look at it — the machine will work out how your eyes see all by itself, and won’t even touch them.
For you. The device checks vision without touching: it measures minus, plus and astigmatism. Your child only needs to sit still for a couple of seconds.
5The doctor will move a toy left and right, up and down. Follow it with just your eyes and keep your head still — like an owl.
For you. This is how the doctor sees how the eye muscles work and whether there’s a squint. It’s a game, not an exam: you can’t get it wrong.
6Then they’ll put in some magic drops. It’ll sting a tiny bit — you can blink. While we wait, look around: soon everything will turn soft and fluffy. That’s the drops working, and then it all goes away.
For you. The drops dilate the pupil: that’s how the doctor sees the back of the eye and the true figure. Near vision will be blurry for 2–4 hours, and light will be dazzling. More about the drops
7When the drops have done their job, the doctor will look into your eyes through a big machine with a little light. Chin on the shelf, and look at the doctor’s ear. It won’t take long.
For you. The doctor examines the retina and optic nerve and checks the refraction. After that, they have everything they need to say whether glasses are needed.
8If your eyes need some help, we’ll go to the glasses shop. There are whole shelves of them — you can pick frames in your favourite colour.
For you. The BABY EYE doctor writes the prescription at the same visit. Glasses are then fitted at the RB OPTICS store at 12 Orynbor St. About glasses
9All done. Well done, you. Outside we’ll put on dark glasses like a real secret agent and go home.
For you. Praise your child, even if not everything went perfectly, and promise a small treat. Don’t plan reading or homework for that day.
For parents, no surprises
You stay with your child the whole visit and know every step in advance. A consultation is a full eye examination, not a single chart like at school. No injections, no cutting: a conversation, pictures, devices that don’t touch the eye, and drops. At the end the doctor explains in words, not with a printout: how your child’s eyes are and what to do next.
Complaints, daily routine, how much time goes on the phone and books, eye conditions in the family. Tell the doctor everything you’ve noticed about your child’s vision: squinting, eye-rubbing, headaches after lessons.
Babies get play-based tests, preschoolers pictures, schoolchildren a letter chart. Each eye separately.
Your child follows an object the doctor moves in different directions. This shows whether the eyes move together and whether there’s a squint that holds back the development of vision.
A check with special charts made of coloured dots. Especially important for schoolchildren: mixing up colours gets in the way of learning.
The drops dilate the pupil. While they take effect, you wait at BABY EYE. Then the doctor looks at the back of the eye and measures the refraction precisely — without this, a child’s glasses prescription can come out wrong.
What the examination showed, how your child sees, whether glasses or treatment are needed, how long they can spend in front of a screen, when to come back. If all is well, we’ll say so, without any “just in case”.
Most of the time goes on waiting for the drops to work. Allow plenty of time and don’t schedule a club or homework after the visit.
The least pleasant part of the visit — and the most necessary
Without drops, a child’s eye hides its true vision figure. A child’s eye adjusts its own focus and can show a minus where there isn’t one, or hide a plus. The drops relax that strain for a while, so the examination shows vision as it really is. Like scales: you weigh a child when they’re standing still, not jumping around.
Tell your child the truth: the drops sting for a couple of seconds, then they can blink. Afterwards everything will be soft and blurry for a while — if they know in advance, it won’t frighten them.
Bright light is dazzling — bring sunglasses. Don’t plan reading, writing or computer time for that day. It all wears off completely by itself: this is how the drops normally work.
Whether there has been an allergy to drops or medicines, and what your child takes regularly. If drops for accommodation spasm are needed, they last up to a day — so they’re usually prescribed for the weekend.
The evening before
A calm parent is half of a calm examination. Children pick up on adults’ anxiety before any words. If you talk about the doctor as casually as a trip to the hairdresser, your child will go in the same way.
Check your toys’ eyesight: cover one of teddy’s eyes with a hand and show a picture. For a schoolchild it helps to practise showing which way the letter “E” is pointing — vision is often checked this way.
Choose a time when your child has slept well and isn’t hungry. A tired child answers worse, and their chart result comes out worse than their real vision.
Show them the story at the top of the page.
All packed. Now you just need to book.
Prescription at the visit, frames at RB OPTICS
The prescription is written at the same visit, once the drops have given an exact figure. There’s no need to go back to the doctor for it. Glasses are then fitted at the RB OPTICS store at 12 Orynbor St, in the RB CLINIC building, where your child chooses the frames.
A doctor explains
Begaidarova Aliya Kairgeldinovna · paediatric ophthalmologist, BABY EYE CLINIC
“No pain, no redness, no squint. You simply don’t see this problem until you check the vision.”
“And if this problem isn’t dealt with before age 7, the vision, unfortunately, may not come back.”
“If you can’t see a puncture from an insect bite, please rush to an ophthalmologist straight away, without delay.”
“If the swelling is in its first days, we prescribe drops and ointments, and it simply goes down, that’s it.”
The doctor’s words from the video, translated word for word. Tap the video to listen with sound.
A doctor, not a nurse with a chart
The examination is carried out by a BABY EYE CLINIC paediatric ophthalmologist. Most often a child only needs glasses, training on special devices or calm monitoring. If surgery is medically needed, RB CLINIC surgeons perform it at 12 Orynbor St: no need to look for another clinic.
Paediatric ophthalmologist, BABY EYE CLINIC
Parents mention her by name in 55 of 117 reviews. Consultations at 2A Syganak St, Mon–Sat 11:00–18:00, by appointment.
Backed by RB CLINIC
Most children only need glasses, lenses, training on devices or simply monitoring. The doctor will suggest surgery only when it is medically needed — for strabismus, ptosis or blocked tear ducts. Then RB CLINIC surgeons perform it: BABY EYE CLINIC is the children’s branch of RB CLINIC, a leading eye microsurgery centre in Astana.
When medically needed:
Bigeldiyev Rishat Kalilullaevich
Founder of RB CLINIC, Academician. If a child needs strabismus surgery, he performs it himself
About Dr. Bigeldiyev
One visit
Write your child’s age and what’s worrying you, and the administrator will find a time when your child isn’t tired. The age and what you ticked by the story will already be in the message. Consultations are at BABY EYE CLINIC in Astana, 2A Syganak St, Mon–Sat 11:00–18:00.
If everything is fine, we’ll tell you so.
Call BABY EYE: +7 771 833 00 03 · Mon–Sat 11:00–18:00
Surgery questions — RB CLINIC: +7 771 848 00 00
Questions
The first check-up is recommended before age one, even if nothing seems wrong. Then before kindergarten, before school and once a year at school, even if the child doesn’t complain: myopia risk grows with schoolwork. Don’t wait for the scheduled check-up if your child squints, rubs their eyes, bends low over their notebook, complains of headaches or tires quickly from reading.
Tell your child ahead of time, and honestly, where you’re going: the doctor will look at your eyes, there won’t be any injections, they’ll put in drops — it’ll sting a little. Play eye doctor at home, bring a favourite toy, water and a snack, and choose a time when your child isn’t tired or hungry. Stay calm yourself and praise your child after the visit.
A talk with the parents, a visual acuity check of each eye (play-based tests, pictures or a chart), a check of the eye muscles and for squint, colour vision, dilating drops, an examination of the back of the eye and a refraction measurement. At the end the doctor explains the results, gives advice on screen and reading habits and, if needed, prescribes treatment and a date for the next visit.
Most often, drops to dilate the pupil. They’re needed to examine the back of the eye and measure the refraction precisely. Afterwards near vision is blurry for 2–4 hours and bright light is dazzling, so bring sunglasses for your child. Sometimes the doctor prescribes drops for accommodation spasm: they last up to a day, so they’re usually prescribed for the weekend. Tell the doctor about allergies and any medicines your child takes regularly.
The doctor writes the prescription at the same visit, after the drops and examination, once the exact vision figure is known. Glasses to the BABY EYE doctor’s prescription are fitted at the RB OPTICS store at 12 Orynbor St, where your child chooses the frames. The store will tell you how many days the glasses take.
The longest part is waiting for the drops to work, so allow plenty of time and don’t plan homework or clubs after the visit. The administrator will give you the exact time when you book — write your child’s age, and a convenient slot will be found for you.
What is my child’s visual acuity and does anything need correcting; is their vision right for their age; is there a risk of myopia; how long can they spend on the phone and computer; how should their desk be set up, and is extra light needed for reading and writing.
We’ll confirm the price of a children’s visit on WhatsApp. Write your child’s age and what’s worrying you, and a visit time will be found right away.
At BABY EYE CLINIC, the children’s branch of RB CLINIC: 2A Syganak St, Astana, Mon–Sat 11:00–18:00, by appointment. Your child is seen by paediatric ophthalmologist Dr. Begaidarova. Glasses to the prescription are fitted at the RB OPTICS store at 12 Orynbor St. If surgery is medically needed, RB CLINIC surgeons perform it there too.
Paediatric ophthalmologist consultation in Astana: BABY EYE CLINIC, 2A Syganak St · Glasses and surgery when needed: RB CLINIC, 12 Orynbor St · BABY EYE: +7 771 833 00 03 · RB CLINIC: +7 771 848 00 00 · All reviews
