Kids and glasses

allwildgirl

allwildgirl

Cathlete
Does anyone have kids who wear glasses? I'm taking my DD for an eye exam on Saturday and I'm pretty sure she needs glasses. She's having trouble seeing the board at school and the teacher says that she's been squinting a lot.

I guess I'm just wondering how your child feels about wearing glasses, how they are about not losing them, etc.? Any input would be great. Thanks:)
 
Hi Shelley,

I don't have kids, but my best friends 9 yo daughter just got glasses. One advantage kids have now is that there are a lot more cool and super cute frames to choose from than when I was a kid (where all the frames were just butt ugly). My friend was a little worried how his daughter would feel, but she actually got kind of excited about when she got to pick out some funky frames.

Not losing them will be a challenge...sorry I can't add anything there.
 
Thanks, Gayle. Sophie doesn't seem at all bothered by the whole glasses thing. Maybe I can duct tape them to her head?
 
Hi Shelley:) My 12 y.o. daughter Faith has been wearing glasses since Grade 4 and she's had no problems; except for the fact that her prescription changes about every 6 months (I have no coverage so we just put new lenses in the same frames until the frames start to go). She has definitely found plastic frames more comfortable as the little elliptical shaped nose pieces in metal frames bother her. She is involved in sports so she recently started wearing contacts (I'm sure it had NOTHING to do with vanity;-) ) and has had no problems, the old glasses strap was just not an option for her. Little girls love trying on someone else's glasses and I have discouraged Faith from doing that because they often get bent out of shape when this happens. Good luck to Sophie, finding the right frames can be quite the fashion statement, oh and seeing the board is good too:p

Take Care
Laurie:)
 
I have two dds who wear glasses. My twins needed follow-up appointments with an ophthalmologist after they came home from the NICU. During one of these appointments, the doctor noticed their older sister's eyes turning inward, and strongly suggested I make an appointment for her. She was a year and a half years old at the time. I thought all she would need was patching. I know this is silly and superficial, but when he told me that she needed to wear glasses, I held myself together until I got into my car and cried all the way to Lenscrafters. BTW, I don't recommend buying children's eyeglasses at Lenscrafters. They don't carry a lot for children. Anyhow, oldest dd ended up needing eye surgery at 4 years old for both eyes to correct her alignment. Patching wouldn't have worked in her case.

My three dds continued to see an ophthalmologist over the years. My oldest dd because of her eye alignment and my twins because of their laser eye surgery while in the NICU. The doctors impressed upon us how blessed we were that our twins didn't go blind or have major sight complications from being born so early.

However, when one of my twins turned 3, her one eye started turning inwards. She got glasses to help with the alignment and slight farsightedness, and we started patching her good eye. After a year, she ended getting surgery on her weak eye. She continues to wear glasses to help maintain the alignment. Her doctor thinks that she has a good chance of outgrowing her need for glasses during her teen years. We have to wait and see.

My twins are your stereotypical dainty girls, but glasses are easily broken. We always have a backup pair of glasses for each child; especially for my oldest dd since she sees double without her glasses. I found an ophthalmologist who also sells a large variety of children's frames. This ophtalmologist also sends the frames out to a facility approved by our insurance for lenses. It makes a big difference in price! Yes, it takes longer than Lenscrafters, but it's worth it for the selection and price. Each frame comes with a one year warranty. If the prescription changes before the year, we will put different lenses into the same frame. They use their backup glasses in the meantime. My insurance only pays for one pair of frames and lenses every year. So, the back-up glasses are out of pocket expenses. I can sometimes get away without having to buy a backup pair of glasses if their frames from the prior year still fit and their prescription hasn't changed. I also pay ~ $100 extra per pair for the transitional lenses since my insurance won't cover it.

When they are in their early teen years, I'll buy them contact lenses if they desire. However, I've gotten so used to them wearing glasses that it wouldn't bother me if they didn't want them. Now, I think they look adorable in glasses.
 
Both my kids wear glasses. DS was in 2nd grade when he got his and DD was in 5th grade. I was much more concerned with my son since he was only 8 and he constantly loses things. x( We offered my son an incentive of a reward ($5 - $10 toy) for taking care of his glasses. Yes, that's right we bribed our son. :7 It worked. Of course, we had to pay out this reward a few times (making the amount of time longer and longer - yes, we're sneaky) and now it's just a habit for him.

2 things I recommend: 1) Having a place for your DD to put her glasses at night when she goes to bed (we bought a holder for my son) so you don't have to tear apart her room in the morning when she can't find them (been there, done that); and 2) If you get the flexible frames, keep in mind you can't bend them TOO MUCH. DS's first pair where the flexbile ones and he bent them to the point they could no longer be straightened.

So many kids in our school wear glasses that it wasn't a big deal at all when my kids got theirs.

HTH,
Sue
 
Thanks for all the input. Lots of good information and advice, as I've come to expect from the wonderful Cathe forums chicks:)

She's already decided she wants cat's eye frames. We don't even know if she needs 'em yet!
 
My 8-year-old son has glasses. Our rule is "on your face or in your case" and the case is always in the backpack.

good luck!
 
>My 8-year-old son has glasses. Our rule is "on your face or
>in your case" and the case is always in the backpack.
>
>good luck!

I like that rule! :) Mind if I borrow it?

Sue
 
Welcome to house of blind bats! My kids never had the option of taking off their glasses because they need them to see 100% of the time. I did spend a great deal of time and sometimes money (more than what insurance would pay for a frame) on really cool frames. Make sure you have a great selection and don't be afraid of looking in the adult section for children because sometimes the frames come in smaller sizes. Also, most insurance companies will not pay for lense upgrades. Make sure that the lenses have a least a poly carbonate because you don't want them breaking or shattering.

Glasses really can be a personality statement and FUN!

Cheryl
 
My son has glasses and he thinks they're cool:) He also just had braces put on and thinks they are cool as well. He goes to a small school and nobody thought twice about either of the new additions. He does scratch them a bit but I made the mistake in the beginning of taking them in to replace the lens for a little scratch. Little did I realize how much an 8 year old would scratch his glasses. Needless to say, I wish I had waited longer to replace the lens because my insurance only covers 2 repairs in one year. Just keep that in mind when considering getting them fixed.

Nicole

Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness.
-Earl of Derby-

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?uid=7738930
 
My son was given glasses when he was 13 months old. He never kept them on, I would find them in the strangest places and often at the bottom on the toy box. I think having them so young he never thinks much about them. I do keep about three pairs at any one time as we are constantly looking for them. I don't bother with expensive glasses and just buy two or three at the cheaper places. He's a very active boy in a lot of sports. He's a hockey goalie on a competitive team and I found he constantly broke his glasses and the expensive ones broke just as often as his cheap ones and were more expensive to repair. Hope your appointment goes well.
 
Shelley, my 15 year old has had glasses since he was about 10. He didn't mind getting them at all, because I let him pick out the frames he thought were "cool." (I think the first pair were lime green, hehe.) He has never broken or lost a pair, so that doesn't have to be a foregone conclusion. However, most optometrical centers offer an insurance plan so you can get them replaced for little or no cost. We also switched to contacts about a year and a half ago and he's been great with them, too.

Of course, I should mention this is my super-responsible firstborn who takes everything in life Very Very Seriously. :) My youngest no doubt would have been through 10 pair by now....

Marie
 
My son got glasses the summer before Kinder. He had been at the same school since he was three, so his friends noticed. His doctor mentioned that he would probably not need them all the time since he was only in K. However, we just had him wear them all the time. I know too many children who take them off and put them on so many times they lose them.

In the years following, a number of his friends all got glasses too so he really never had any problems. He is now in fourth grade and once when he got his picture taken he was asked if he wanted to take them off. His response was...glasses are who I am.

I told him he could get contacts when he got to middle school if he wanted but he wasnt interested. some of his friends actually got contacts in third and fourth grade.

On your face or in the case is our motto too...although I have no idea where the case is at this time...oops.
 
Both of my daughters wear glasses, well, my eldest has just moved into contacts and loves them (age 13). Martha wore glasses from about age 8 onwards, for precisely the reasons you mention: short sighted, can't see blackboard, etc. At first, it was just for this reason, then within 3 years, she needed to wear them all the time. It never bothered her at all. Her friends just saw the glasses look as being a part of Martha, and since she was always part of a brainiac group, she fit in and no-one has ever teased her or made her feel self-conscious about it. She is a neat freak and never loses a single thing, so losing glasses was never a problem with Martha.

My youngest has worn glasses in the classroom and to watch movies for the last 2 years and looks great in them. We deliberately spent the money on a great pair of frames in a colour that suits her and as a result, when she wears them, she looks so great, like a scholar, and I always compliment her. Again, no self-consciousness was ever an issue. She, however, loses stuff all the time. So the solution has been to buy her a real funky glasses case that she would be upset to lose, regardless of the content! Also, she has a particular pocket in her backpack that is just for the glasses case, so we observe the ritual of making sure they get placed back in their case and in the backpack as soon as she is done watching a movie. As a result, we have never lost glasses, only a glasses case once. I consider myself lucky!!!

Yes, get polycarbonate lenses, especially if your girl plays sports.

Hope this helps,

Clare
 
My son has had glasses since he was 4 years old and he just turned 8. He is good about wearing them and has never lost them. I did just have to put his case in his backpack so if he does take them off at school or on the bus they are protected.

Sherry
 
OMG I think it has taken me about 10 years of wearing glasses before I figured this rule out! I think it is the most ironic thing in the world to have to search for my glasses without my glasses...

I started at I think age 11 or 12, something like that. I didn't mind much; my dad has coke bottle glasses so I was expecting it. The frame decision is critical, though. Glad Sophie has figured that out. ;-) I mean 8)
 
My son has had them since he was 5. He's now 7. He wishes that he didn't need them at times. But he wears them everyday. I think he looks really cute in them. There are so many different styles of glasses for kids these days, that I think the conseption that we grew up with, 4 eyes, dork, are all a thing of the past. Heck my sons cousin saw his glasses and wanted them. Oh, and the girls all think he's cute too! He's already had 1 little girlfriend.:) Also when DH went over to a friends house in town there was a little girl a couple years older than my son and she knew who he was and told dh that he's cute.
So, it's not bad at all to wear glasses, like it used to be, I don't think.
Go find your daughter a cute pair of glasses and have some fun picking them out. That's what my sonn likes to do the best. Buy new glasses!

Kathy

Edited to add: We've only lost 1 pair, and the teacher found them. But I would suggest going to a glasses store that sells 2 for $99, or something along those lines. Don't bother with the warranties, because if you lose the glasses, or even just a lense, they are null and void. I would highly recommend just buying 2 pair, one as back up.
 
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