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Kantonsspital, St Gallen, Switzerland.
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Editor’s note: One of the reasons for undertaking squint surgery in children is to correct the cosmetic problem prior to the start of schooling. In this study, it was found that children with strabismus aged ≥6 years were invited less often to birthday parties than children without squints. The study was conducted by showing 118 children six pairs of photographs of two children differing in the coloring of their shirts and the position of their eyes (normal, esotropic, and exotropic). The observers were then asked which children they would invite to their birthday party. Obviously, this is a slightly simplistic study, as other factors are going to determine how well a child is accepted into its peer group. Nonetheless, the presence of strabismus does seem to be a negative factor in a child being accepted by his or her peers.