Do you have a toddler who wears glasses to correct vision?

Canaan - posted on 08/05/2009

Dawn, been a while since I looked here. As on optician LaFonts are my absolute favorite childrens(and adult) frames. Their quality is amazing, and they are so much fun! Good choice for the kid!

Deb - posted on 01/08/2009

Hi, I am Deb, I have four yr old twins that our former preemies. They both wear glasses and are doing well. You can put a band behind the glasses to prevent him from taking them off. I found it only drawed more attention to the glasses. It also helps to make it fun for them. Good Luck!!

Dawn - posted on 01/07/2009

You've got tons of good advice so far! I have only one thing to add.  My daughter is five now and having glasses is a very defining thing so she has three pairs, pink, blue, and purple. All with fun, funky designs.  Everywhere she goes she gets complimented on her glasses so she's very proud to wear them.  They are called Lafont.  I know it  might seem over the top o have three pairs but A) they do break and B) if you must wear glasses when you're five then make it part of their personality.  Lastly, don't worry about your little one taking the glasses off. Once they realize they can see they hate to be without them!

Canaan - posted on 01/07/2009

I come at this from two directions. My son, 15 y/o, has worn classes since he was 4; and I have been an optician(person who sells and fits the eyeglasses) for 10.5 years. 4 of those years I have specialized in pediatric fitting and eyewear.

My biggest piece of advice is to continually tell him how good he looks in them and how awesome he is doing with them. If you live in the KCK or KCMo area feel free to stop in and I can adjust them for you as well.

Have a strap on hand, just in case you need it, but honestly 75% of my kids don't need them. The biggest thing they use is the wrap around cable temples, most frames can be converted to or away from these type of cables.

Don't get discouraged, and know that there will be breakages, bends and scratches. When he notices how different things are with them he will start to want them on.

Good Luck!

Stacie - posted on 01/07/2009

My daughter now 4, has had glasses since she was 1. We thought we would have a really hard time keeping them on. To our surprise she took to them right away. We bought the strap for them but never needed to use it. I think that they helped her so much that she relized she could see soo much more with them. Now putting on her glasses is the first thing she does when she gets up in the morning. I think it will be much easier then you think. Good Luck!!

Alicia - posted on 01/06/2009

My daughter, now 4, has had glasses for about a year now. When she first got them we did a "photoshoot" to show off her new glasses to everyone. We constantly tell her how beautiful she is with them on. We also got a strap...this has helped her when she is jumping around and such, they just won't fall off. She loves her "pink" glasses! Good luck!

Sheri - posted on 01/06/2009

My daughter started wearing glasses when she was 2 years old. The first thing that I said to him was "she will never keep them on!" he said you would be surprised b/c as soon as they realize that they can see better they do. And she did. Her glasses when she was little had the curved part that goes around their ear to help keep them on but she graduated to regular ones when she was a little older. She's 10 1/2 years old now and actually got contacts almost a year ago and does fantastic with them! It will all work out and he will get used to them. It's probably easier for them to get used to them being so young than if he would have had to get them years down the road.

Ronnelle - posted on 01/06/2009

My son is now 5 and he has had his glasses since he was about 2 1/2. I do recommend that you get bendable frames and scratch resistant lenses. Also for his first pair, a strap or curved ear pieces will help out alot. Once he has them for a week or so he won't look at them as something to play with. My son actually surprised me with how quickly he adjusted. Good Luck!!

Alyn - posted on 01/06/2009

I agree with making sure they fit well. My daughters didn't and that was why she wouldn't keep them on. Also, she is scratching them up, they are under a year warranty and are fixed for free, but she is without them for a week when that happens. My husband wouldn't pay for the scratch resistant lenses (no vision insurance), so she just goes without them for a week. She has only had them for a few months and has had them replaced once, now they are scratched again!

Tasha - posted on 01/06/2009

I would suggest spending the extra money for the crisal lenses. This was a life saver for us when my 6 year old daughter first started wearing glasses at 2. Crisal is scratch resistant and has a life time warranty, so they will replace your lenses for free whenever they get too scratched up, which they will. It costs abou $60, but pays for itself quickly. Good luck!

Alyn - posted on 11/22/2008

My daughter just turned 9 months and now has glasses (for one week now). We are having a heck of a time keeping them on. Unfortunatly she caught a bad cold the day after getting them, so haven't been constantly trying to keep them on her. Hopefully she will get better soon. Currently she will rip them off about every minute or so. ARGH!

Fara - posted on 11/22/2008

check out the adorable all rubber glasses called mira flex - my son has these and they are awesome! They make little bitty ones for babies with an elastic band to keep them on.

Maria - posted on 11/19/2008

Thank you al so much! Yesterday was a shocker for me and my husband as neither of us has ever worn glasses so we didn't know how to think. I feel so much less anxious. I'll post a picture of Mason modeling his new glasses! Thank you all.

Dawn - posted on 11/19/2008

my boy started wearing glasses and we were really worryed about him keeping them on as he would never let anything near his face we even had to change his inhayler so it was ,a in the mouth one not a over the mouth on but any family members that wear glasses made a big thing that the glasses helped them see and when his were ready for him he relised that he chould see all these new things devloped a love of jigsaws that he chould never see to do propaly and he never takes them off so long as they fit propaly we have no problem i dont think you will have as many problems as you think you will

Sherree - posted on 11/18/2008

My son is 11 now and was able to give up his glasses after having them for 8 years. I do agree with the silicone nosepads also. Most places will adjust the glasses for free also. I also gave treats for keeping the glasses on. My son loved match box cars, so we bought a whole bunch and gave rewards every few days. We also had a deal that only mom or dad would take off the glasses at night and put them in the special case to keep them safe. Once he got older we just told him that if he wears them as the doctor request then at the age of 10 he could possibly not need them anymore. By 10 he could start not using them as much, but I had to force him at 11 to stop wearing them. Best of luck.

Madeline - posted on 11/18/2008

My son started wearing glasses at 2 1/2 (he is 4 now). I was really worries when we found out he had to get glasses because I thought he would never weat them. We did a couple thing that I think helped. For his first pair of glasses we got him the ones with the curved ear pieces. Also, we really pushed and enforced wearing them all the time (not for sleep obviously). He didn't put up much of a fight - honestly I think he could see better with them too. I think it was easier to start him at 2 1/2 with glasses than later. Now he wears them all the time. Good luck.

Darshan - posted on 11/18/2008

My daughter (just turned 3) has had glasses for about eighteen months. Couple things that helped: make sure the glasses fit really well when he gets them (especially the nosepads) if they are uncomfortable the discomfort may overpower the benefit of the glasses, in his perspective. We also had silicone nosepads put on (they're a little softer). And ABSOLUTELY don't let him start any bad habits of taking them off. It's probably not the best way, but I let my daughter watch a lot of tv the first day as a "reward" for keeping the glasses on. If she took them off, I turned the video off. I also started wearing my glasses, that I don't normally wear (except for driving at night), around the house so that she had someone like her in the family. Most importantly because he is two, try to make it fun and rewarding (beyond the ability to see), not a powerstruggle. Good Luck.