If you order a bifocal for a child, you should ______ the seg height.

• A. Raise
• B. Lower
• C. Maintain
• D. Raise by 1 mm

Answer: (A)

Raising the seg height places the reading portion higher on the lens so the child’s line of sight during near work lines up with the near segment. Kids read with a downward gaze at a close distance, so if the segment sits too low, they’ll end up looking through the distance portion for reading, which causes blur and strain. By lifting the segment, the near portion falls into the pupil’s path when the child is looking down to read, making near vision clearer and easier to use. Lowering or keeping the height low would make the near segment hard to access, while the exact amount isn’t as important as positioning it higher to suit a child’s typical reading posture.