# How do I get my toddler to wear his new glasses? Anyone with experience?



## BelCanto (Oct 29, 2002)

My ds (22 mo) needs to wear glasses. We picked them up today. They are mira-flex frames made of a plastic/rubber type material, so they seem pretty safe and flexible.

The thing is...I can already see the battle brewing and I have no idea how to get him to wear them.

Have any of you mammas gone through this? And, what did you successfully get your toddler to wear glasses?

Thank you,
Jennifer


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## ookami (Feb 27, 2007)

I started wearing glasses when I was about 20 months old. My mom said that I was actually happy to wear them because I could actually SEE things once I put the glasses on!!! But my vision is quite bad so I would imagine that if your little guy's vision isn't so bad, then the glasses might seem like a bit of a problem. Maybe you could do something like get him a doll or a stuffed animal with glasses or find some books about or with characters who have glasses.


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## 4evermom (Feb 3, 2005)

When my cousin needed glasses at age 3, her wanting to wear them wasn't even an issue because her eyesight was so bad without them. I guess your guy's vision is a little better. If he is near sighted, you might want to wait until you are outside to put them on him because he probably has less of a need for them inside so won't realize how wonderful they are and will be bothered by the unfamiliar feeling. He might also be distracted from them by being outside (take him to a playground or something). And I guess you could try the reverse if he is far sighted. I would try to ease him into wearing them, just put them on until he takes them off, then try again at another time. I didn't get glasses until I was older (10 or 11 yo) which means I remember that they took some getting used to.


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## Terrilein (Jan 9, 2007)

My dd got glasses when she was 5, so she was much older and we could talk to her about it if there was an issue. But there wasn't! She was totally happy to have glasses (she's far-sighted) not because she could see better, but because she looked like mama, papa and step-papa. Almost every adult she knows wears glasses anyways and I think at her age, kids start wanting to imitate adults and that was a "milestone" for her, so to speak. Maybe you could go that route, too.


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## 4evermom (Feb 3, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Terrilein* 
My dd got glasses when she was 5, so she was much older and we could talk to her about it if there was an issue. But there wasn't! She was totally happy to have glasses (she's far-sighted) not because she could see better, but because she looked like mama, papa and step-papa. Almost every adult she knows wears glasses anyways and I think at her age, kids start wanting to imitate adults and that was a "milestone" for her, so to speak. Maybe you could go that route, too.

That's true. I think my ds was 2 1/2 when he really wanted glasses like mommy and daddy. I popped the lenses out of my old pair and gave them to him. He would do a great daddy imitation wearing them. He went to the closet and started rifling through all the dress shirts saying "hmmm...what to wear.." just like dh. It was hilarious.


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## mittendrin (Nov 5, 2003)

I don't have kids w glasses but am an optician so I can tell you from 100s of customers over the years that your ds will probably keep them on once he figures out that he can see better with them.
Does your optical shop have a return policy? If after a few eeks he still doesn't want to keep them on I suggest switching to a flexible metal frame (Marchon brand or check at Lenscrafters) and have them put the round flexible endpieces on to go behind the ears. They are harder to take off, are comfy and the glasses stay on better.
He'll get used to them, I'm sure. Btw, watch him the first few days when he's walking stairs, curbs...


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## 4evermom (Feb 3, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mittendrin* 
Btw, watch him the first few days when he's walking stairs, curbs...









Ooooh....good point. I had trouble with stairs when I switched from the big 80's frames to the smaller frames. And I remember how far away the ground looked when I first got glasses. Hopefully, it won't be as extreme for a toddler who is closer to the ground.


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## Ceinwen (Jul 1, 2004)

Quote:

don't have kids w glasses but am an optician so I can tell you from 100s of customers over the years that your ds will probably keep them on once he figures out that he can see better with them.
This is what happened with my dd. She was eight months old when she got her first pair, and (of course) she took them off a lot to play with them at that age, but by 14 months she never fiddled at all. Especially once she started cruising and walking.

On a side note... when the pediatric opthamologist gave us the prescription for her glasses, he also gave us one for these plastic arm restraints (prevents the child's elbow from bending, keeps the whole arm straight) and recommended we use that to discourage her from touching her face/glasses.








:

Not only is that cruel and unusual, can you imagine the safety concerns? My crawling, learning to cruise baby with her arms locked out straight? Uh, yeah. Hiiiiighly unlikely... I told him I thought it was demented and I'd rather her not wear the glasses (even though she's severely vision impaired).







:


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## BelCanto (Oct 29, 2002)

plastic arm restraints ? That is so wierd! Yikes!!

Anyway, I guess I should have mentioned that the glasses are not so much for his vision, but to correct his strabismus - or eye turning. So he will not get so much satisfaction from having them on and being able to see better, because he already sees ok - his eyes just turn in a lot.

Thanks for your replies.


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## flapjack (Mar 15, 2005)

Isaac wears glasses to correct strabismus too- he was 4 when he got them. We had a horrible time at first- walking home from the opticians in the rain, with him crying his eyes out, and then went round to visit friends where everyone in the house wore glasses







By the time he left, he was as happy as normal.
With strabismus, though, you need to be careful that he doesn't start looking over the top of his glasses. Isaac does this a lot and it drives me nuts because his bad eye starts turning again.
Is he having patches as well?


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## BelCanto (Oct 29, 2002)

Hi - no, no patches yet. I would say his case is still fairly mild, but it is happening more and more. I just worry so much b/c they say each time the eye turns in, part of the brain turns off so that he won't see double. Well, if that happens too much - especially now, when his eyesight is really developing rapidWly - it cause long-term vision problems.

We thought we would start with glasses and then we were told could try the "eye drops". I don't know if they offered those to you, or if you tried them, but it sounds scary!

Anywhoo...we'll probably try some sort of vision therapy as well. I'm hoping we don't have to interfere too much.

--Jennifer


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## pinecone (Jan 29, 2003)

My DD got glasses at 3 for far-sightedness and strambismus. Her strambismus even needed patching and then ultimately surgery when she was 3 1/2. She had no problems keeping her glasses on since she saw so much better. The patching wasn't much fun, but she got used to it. And now, I can't tell you how many people compliment her on her cute glasses. I think that makes her feel good.

Good luck,
~ Denise


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## Ceinwen (Jul 1, 2004)

Ohhh yah, I forgot about patching.














:

We ordered really cute ones online, and each day Z picks out which one she wants to wear. It kinda gives her a bit of control over it... We had to start out slow though, because she had a lot of headaches initially.


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## RubyWild (Apr 7, 2004)

IME, if the glasses really help him to see better, he'll wear them. If they don't do much for him, then it doesn't matter whether he wears them or not.


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## mittendrin (Nov 5, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *zoesmummy* 

On a side note... when the pediatric opthamologist gave us the prescription for her glasses, he also gave us one for these plastic arm restraints (prevents the child's elbow from bending, keeps the whole arm straight) and recommended we use that to discourage her from touching her face/glasses.








:



WHAT????







I've been working in the field for almost 14 ys now and have never seen anyone use those.


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## mittendrin (Nov 5, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RubyWild* 
IME, if the glasses really help him to see better, he'll wear them. If they don't do much for him, then it doesn't matter whether he wears them or not.

Not true and dangerous to advise. A crutch or a cast doesn't necessarily hlep you with moving your limbs better right away but is much needed to help them heal, right?


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## Ceinwen (Jul 1, 2004)

Quote:

WHAT???? I've been working in the field for almost 14 ys now and have never seen anyone use those.
And this was at Canada's most well known children's hospital to boot! They kept telling me that I couldn't reason with a baby and that it was in her best interest to wear the glasses, this was just a tool to discourage her from touching her face, blah blah blah.

Of course, my dh (smart @ss) asked him if he could try the restraints out on him (the doctor)







when they got pissy with us for refusing to try a set on my dd.

Ick.

Quote:

Not true and dangerous to advise. A crutch or a cast doesn't necessarily hlep you with moving your limbs better right away but is much needed to help them heal, right?
I agree; especially with strabismus. Look at patching - that makes my dd bump into things, and she sees a lot _worse_ while it's actually on... but it's the long term results you're looking for.


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## RubyWild (Apr 7, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mittendrin* 
Not true and dangerous to advise. A crutch or a cast doesn't necessarily hlep you with moving your limbs better right away but is much needed to help them heal, right?

I'm just speaking from anecdotal experiences in my family of many glasses wearers, not as a professional. However, if the glasses help so much, why wouldn't the child want to wear them? MY experience has been that if they're not helping that much, they cast them off. Obviously, the parent would have to take a lot of variables into account.

Also, glasses are a crutch, but they don't heal us, and a child will throw the crutch aside when it's not necessary.


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## mittendrin (Nov 5, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RubyWild* 

Also, glasses are a crutch, but they don't heal us, ....


Again, not true. Do you have any professional experience in the field and know what you are talking about?


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## Ceinwen (Jul 1, 2004)

Welllll, everyone's different, but for us...

Z's glasses are 'healing' her eyes.

She had/has a massive hemangioma around over her right eye. It started growing at approx. six weeks of age. By eight weeks, her eye was swollen shut. When they ran various tests, the paediatric opthamologist expressed concern that critical nerves running from her eye to her brain were not being properly 'connected'.

We had her on prednisone for eight months to control swelling (a hemangioma is vascular in nature) and then she had a series of steroid injects at that time to finish off the process.

Z's glasses/patching are assisting her eye in remaking connections to her brain. They are also retraining her eyes to work in tandem. They are also allowing the 'good' eye to take a break, while forcing the 'bad' eye to work harder.

The opthamologist here in town is very confident that she'll need patching for the next eighteen months, and glasses (hopefully!) for only the next three years.

At that point in time, her eyes should be sufficiently strengthened to work on their own. The fact is, Z doesn't have a vision problem persay, it's a nerve/connection issue and strength regeneration issue.

Just us!


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## BelCanto (Oct 29, 2002)

Hi All,

Just wanted to let you know that ds is doing great wearing his glasses over the weekend! And, it hasn't been too much of a struggle!! I'm so relieved.

He is not wearing them all of the time, but he'll go for a good amount of time with them on and then he'll hide from me and pull them off. lol! He even started making a game out of it, which I was kinda going along with until I realized that probably wasn't the best game to be playing.

But, all it all, I am encouraged. There were very few battles. Actually only one. And, he was tired...so I took them off to give his eyes a rest as he is just getting used to this new prescription.

Thanks for your stories.

--Jennifer


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## mittendrin (Nov 5, 2003)

I am glad he's starting to like them. It'll get easier every day now


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## mommyandlovingit (Oct 20, 2005)

My son revceived his first pair of glasses at the age of 1. He is very near sighted and had laser eye surgery at the age of 2.5 months to keep him from going blind. It was a struggle at first to get ds to wear his glasses as they do take some getting used to. At the age ds was at and because he was constantly pulling them off the doctor told us we needed to put splints on his arms. That lasted just a few days but ds eventually realized that he could see with them and now at age 5 puts his glasses on as soon as he gets out of bed.
Though the beginning is a struggle it will get easier.


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## Periwinkle (Feb 27, 2003)

My dd has worn glasses since she was 4 and wore hers happily because she could see so much better. But I remember her eye doctor saying that the first few days could be a struggle as she got used to them, but that I should see quickly a desire to wear them constantly... if she didn't "come around" I was to go back in, because it's possible a.) the frames didn't fit her face and were hurting her and/or b.) the prescription was wrong and needed to be adjusted. HTH.


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## Mom2JakeandJosh (May 21, 2005)

Jennifer,
I don't have a suggestions for keeping the glasse on but I wanted to let you know my son started wearing glasses at 3 1/2. He did do patching but we had much better results with the eye drops. The eye drops are used to dilate his good eye forcing him to use the weaker eye. We did this twice daily for about 18 months.

Dana


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## IndigoGirlies (Jul 29, 2006)

Coming to this late--saw you updated, but would like to give my input.

My dd was 9 months old when she first got her glasses. She wouldn't leave them on, and when I called the dr. for suggestions, she actually wanted to prescribe me a drug to make her eyes blurry, so that when she had the glasses on, it would help!







: I ran it by my aunt, the pharmacist, and she told me it was a very powerful med used mostly for elderly people with eye conditions due to diabetes and ulcer!







: Needless to say, we did NOT use the drops.

Instead, my dh went to the nearest sporting goods store, found a nice thin sports strap that we put on the glasses, and she never touched them after that! The strap also helped the glasses fit better, as when the kiddos are little, they don't have much of a bridge on their nose.

HTH! Good luck!


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## mightymoo (Dec 6, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RubyWild* 
Also, glasses are a crutch, but they don't heal us, and a child will throw the crutch aside when it's not necessary.

Two of my cousins boys had a condition (not sure if its the same as the one the OPs child has) which required they wear glasses when they were young to correct and now they don't wear glasses at all as teens


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## Periwinkle (Feb 27, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mightymoo* 
Two of my cousins boys had a condition (not sure if its the same as the one the OPs child has) which required they wear glasses when they were young to correct and now they don't wear glasses at all as teens









:

Just totally scratching my head at that post. Glasses are hardly a crutch for children who a.) can't see without them or b.) eyes are corrected (healed) with their use.

Glasses FIXED my dd's eyes from crossing. They don't cross anymore even when she takes them off. That's not a crutch.


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## Beanjeepin (Mar 9, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RubyWild* 

Also, glasses are a crutch, but they don't heal us, and a child will throw the crutch aside when it's not necessary.

Actually, we've been told by three different eye docs now that wearing DS's glasses all the time NOW, because we caught his vision issues super early and they are NOT bad, COULD heal him. And because it's not that bad yet he might not notice MUCH of a difference and thus may NOT want to wear them all the time, but it's most beneficial if he does, so you bet we'll be encouraging it.

Signed, parents who got glasses themselves at 18 months and 4 years old.


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## MeredithMommy (Oct 24, 2004)

Prolly not what you want to hear. but here goes.

I got glasses when I wa 15 mo old. I hated them and kicked and screamed and wouldnt leave them on.

My parents rolled newspaper around my arm at the elbow so that I couldn't bend my elbow to take the glasses off. My dad took me outside and showed me stuff, like the trees, grass, flowers. Then he took off my glasses and showed me the same stuff and of course it was very blurry and I couldn't really see. Once I made the connection between the glasses and seeing I never tried to take them off again>

ALSO, I don't know how you feel about it, but lots of opthamologists will prescribe contacts for babies now. They are way easier than glasses, REALLY!!! If glasses are a big struggle I would think about contacts!!!


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