opinions on eyeglasses for little kids

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My daughter had her five year checkup today and apparently she didn't do very well on the eye test. Now I have to bring her to an eye doctor. It crushes me to think of this little kid having to wear glasses. I started wearing them at age 9. I think putting a little in glasses at this age would just weaken her eyes more, as I remember the prescriptions always seemed too strong when they were new, and as the eyes adjusted they in effect became more dependent on the glasses. I homeschool, so she doesn't read a blackboard. I will get her tested, but I'd like some opinions as to how I should respond if the eye doctor says she needs glasses. She does fine in her schoolwork (she reads well and does math), and I don't notice any squinting when watching videos.

-- Christina (introibo2000@yahoo.com), October 12, 2001

Answers

Hello, Christina. I understand how you feel - I've had glasses since I was 7 (that makes 37 years now). And my oldest daughter had to get glasses at age 7 as well. But I think that if the eye doctor says she needs glasses, you should get them. That's just not something to mess around with. There's a lot of blindness in my family, so we take our vision very seriously around here. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you're not taking it seriously. And it's a tough thing to have to face. But if your little one does need glasses, just be thankful that we live in a day and age where these wonderful things are readily available!

I say all this as I am trying desperately to get used to BIFOCALS!!!! Sheesh. I just got them two weeks ago. Does anybody out there know how long it takes to get used to these things? :-)

Best wishes for you and your little sweetie.

-- Cheryl in KS (cherylmccoy@rocketmail.com), October 12, 2001.


You answered your own question, you had glasses at age 9. In my experience vision difficulties are heridity. Dont do your child a disservice. There are lots of eye glasses that a very pretty and if you dont make a big deal out of it, she wont either. My son had corrective surgery at age 4 and has worn glasses ever since. He is now 14 and we are now doing contacts. He most certainly inherited his fathers vision since I have 20/20 vision and dont fully understand not being able to see well. I was always told that if you correct vision difficulties early then you are better off. The eyes can correct themself to a certain degree. Good luck to your family.

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), October 12, 2001.

Get the glasses. Not sure what the problem is, but it will likely only get worse if not treated promptly. Both my older brother and sister had glasses in grades 1-3, but then no longer needed them. Each of them has kids, and of those kids, one son in each family has had glasses prescribed at about the same age. Too soon to tell yet if the glasses are temporary, but both boys wear them and do not mind once they got used to them. Do not take any chances with your daughter's vision.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), October 12, 2001.

Hi Christina, I understand your search for holistic eye care and I know there exists yoga eye exercises. Its true and it may sound corney to those of you who are long time glass wearers, but people are actually correcting their vision by doing strenghtening exercises. Not sure how it would work with a youth, but I homeschool too, and can imagine making a game out of focusing close, focusing far.... Maybe ther are some resources online, I think there are a few books with exercises you might be able to find at the library. Depending on what part of the country you are in maybe there is a holistic eye doctor who could give some suggestions. Vision isn't anything to take for granted, and quetioniong the need for an apparatice is OK!

-- becca (lostcreek@olywa.net), October 13, 2001.

Christina, take her to a good optometrist who does a lot of work with kids and get his views (no pun intended). If you'll feel more comfortable you can always get a second opinion.

Cheryl, I avoided bifocals for over four years after my exam showed I needed them. I was able to read without glasses so only had the new distance portion of the prescription filled as regular glasses. I finally ordered progressive bifocals this time around. I put them on, walked to my truck, drove away and haven't had a problem with them at all. I even sent a note to my optometrist with my check telling him how happy I was with them. If you don't have them now, get the progressive lenses. I love mine and now only regret not having gotten them four years sooner. I hope this helps.

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), October 13, 2001.



My son got glasses at the age of 6 and has worn them everysince. By all means get shatterproof lenses. They cost more and at the time I questioned the extra expense but when he slammed into a tree on his bike when he was 7 boy was I glad he had them. The lenses shattered but stayed intact which saved his eyesight. You never know. Toni

-- Toni (dontoni@iinc.com), October 13, 2001.

I know many don't like Wal-mart, but their kids glasses are cheap and they have a great warranty. Ask me how I know!?!

-- Melissa (cmnorris@1st.net), October 13, 2001.

I started wearing glasses at the age of eight. Until then, I didn't know that you could see individual leaves on trees or that street signs had words on them. I did exceptionally well in my schoolwork, too, but being able to see gave me a new life outdoors. (I wish I had had glasses sooner!!) Even if your daughter's eyesight isn't that bad, please get her the corrective lenses she needs. Eyesight is dependent on the shape of the eye (which continues to grow and change, hence the need for stronger/weaker perscriptions), and no amount of exercises will change that.

-- Sharon/WI (pinnow@inwave.com), October 13, 2001.

I started wearing glasses at age four and wore them until age 14 when we switched to contacts. By that time I was getting a new prescription every six months, but the contacts stopped that. I didn't need a new prescription for 5 years, and then it was for the better. I now wear the gas-permeable hard lenses and get a new prescription about every two or three years (not always for the better).

It is good that your daughter is being diagnosed properly. At the age of 4, everyone in my preschool class had an eye exam. I failed so miserably that they decided I must be on the "slow" side, and suggested special ed. My mom said, "you tested her for eyesight; don't you think it would be better to take her to an opthamologist first?" I wonder how many other little kids went to a special ed class instead of the eye doctor.

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), October 13, 2001.


My daughter had to have glassed at age 13. She was thrilled to be able to see. You know 13 is a bad age to be teased. But if you will make it a positive experience it will be o.k. The Dr. told me if my eye problems would have been caught before I was 5 years old my vision could have been corected without having to wear glassed. So it could be something that could be corected. So by all means take her. Let her pick the frames and make sure it a positive experience. Maybe even give her a party or something.

-- ruby (mcfays451@aol.com), October 13, 2001.


I, too, got my first pair of bifocals a few years ago and got the progressive (no-line ) lenses. I walked away and never had one problem adjusting. They are more expensive and not always covered by insurance, but are wonderful. I've got to make an appt. soon, because I think I need a little stronger bi-focals. My first ones were probably "learners lenses"! Ha!

-- connie in nm (karrelandconnie@msn.com), October 13, 2001.

I know a man who is in his late 50's who people think is retarded. What is so sad is that he isn't. He had bad eye sight as a child which wasn't corrected and everyone thought he was slow. His only problem is that he couldn't see well! He has spent his life thinking he is less than capable of living a complete life because of that. Take the child to the eye doctor and get the shatterproof lenses!

-- Ardie/WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), October 13, 2001.

A while back I read about a book with the exercises like becca talked about. From the description I thought it might be something I'd check into some day. I couldn't find the title in my current copy of the Chinaberry catalog (where I originally read about it) but it might be on their website WWW.Chinaberry.com or call them 800-776-2242.

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), October 13, 2001.

If you have a postive attitude towards the glasses so will your daughter. Glasses and outside appearance have nothing to do with one's abilities or their heart. You can still do the eye exercises (just take off the glasses and do them a few times a day).

Another consideration: Our daughter had social problems related to her poor eyesight. Because she couldn't recognize faces, to others she appeared stuck up or disinterested in them--the problem was she didn't recognize people and held back from smiling or saying hi to save herself embarrassment. What a difference it made in her school work. Night and Day. Kids act out in class often to hide their inability to understand which is often tied to ability to see.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), October 13, 2001.


My son Kyle, got his glasses when he was 9. He's 15 now and it sure does't bother him at all. When he got them he was amazed at everything he was missing. It will also make a difference if your child does sports. When Kyle starting playing T-ball and little league, he was horrible at catching flyballs, well it's because he couldn't see the ball. Last year he had contacts, but this year went back to glasses, because he said that glasses were less hassle. Such a guy!

-- vicki in NW OH (thga76@aol.com), October 13, 2001.


I have seen the eye-exercise programs around too, but never checked into them. I would be interested in knowing if they worked for anyone. :) That being said, I got glasses when I was 9 or 10... and I thought the world really opened up for me. Suddenly I could see all that I had been missing... all the leaves on the trees, etc. When my two boys needed glasses, they got them, and had similar reactions like I did. It took a couple weeks for them to get used to wearing them, but they wear them all the time now. My girls have not needed any as

-- Toni Rakestraw (dabblmom@aol.com), October 13, 2001.

Thanks, everybody, for sympathizing and not thinking me a wacky parent! I orderd the "See Clearly Method" advertized on Dr. Laura but frankly, although the exercises might have eventually helped, one of the notions behind the program is that you have to get progressively weaker lenses prescribed for you, thus helping your eyes to work harder, strenghthen, them, etc. My prescription hadn't changed in years, so I didn't have weaker ones lying around. The cost to get new lenses every few months would have been prohibitive - equal to the cost of getting contact lenses (which I had given up on, too, because of the cost of maintaining them). Thanks again.

-- Christina (introibo2000@yahoo.com), October 13, 2001.

My daughter got glasses when she was about 8 years old (school exam), and I'll never forget when she came home with her new glasses, looked out the window and said, with awe in her voice, "There's COWS on that hill!" She hadn't been able to see them before, and of course I had no idea that she couldn't see things far away. I felt so guilty that I hadn't realized that she needed glasses......

-- Bonnie (chilton@stateline-isp.com), October 13, 2001.

I agree with the others. My daughter was so happy to see so much better when she got glasses at 10 and then added contacts at 11. If your child's eyesight is poor, it can go down hill rapidly.

-- Eve Lyn (evelynv@valuelinx.net), October 13, 2001.

Sounds like the fact that your daughter may need prescriptive lenses, is more your problem, please do some self exam here. If the Dr. said your daughter needed insulin to control diabetes, would you debate the issue with strangers? A second opinion may allay your fears , but please consider your child! I got glasses at an earlly age, and didn't know prior to that that the grass in the yard had visible blades of grass, or that the moonwasn't just a bllur of light, but that it had a definite shape, just like in the picture books. I was also a staight A student, an avid reader, and had no apparent squint to see the blackboard. Get the glasses. I say a thankyou to God daily to be living in a day,where I can see with help from these lenses. I now need bi-focals,and had a couple of weeks where they were difficult. The kinds with lines work lots better for me. New glasses may give your daughter a slight headache for a couple days, no big deal.

-- Margaret Jensen (gjensenii@earthlink.com), October 13, 2001.

I was diagnosed with amblyopia at age 5.(lazy eye) I wore a patch over the strong eye to try to strengthen the weak one. That didn't work so I began wearing glasses. Two of my children have the same eye problems. A couple of years ago I expressed concern about my grandchild's eyesight to her Mother and was told to "butt out" that if there was anything wrong with the child's eyes she would know. I offered to make the appmt, take her to the eye doctor, even pay for the glasses and exam. Now my grand child is seven and wearing glasses and probably will have to all her life. I wonder what would have happened if she had listened to me. Seven is not a good age to start wearing glasses because of the desire of all children to neither look or act different from the other kids. She often loses them and misplaces them. When she is with me I insist that she read me a story for a change and she has to wear her glasses to be able to do that! Glasses today are so cute and she is a beautiful child with or without them. Eyes and teeth are two things that should be checked early and often. Get the glasses and offer positive encouragement. It will work out. They show how much you love your child!

-- Maribeth Long (mslong38326@yahoo.com), March 01, 2002.

The problem is that with something like eyesight, you don't want to take any chances... but if you consult a "professional" they are always going to tell you that glasses are necessary because after all, their entire industry depends on it! Can you imagine the drop in glasses sales if they started saying, "Well yes, your eyes will become dependent on the lenses and will get progressively weaker because of this"? I too started wearing glasses young, at age 8, and the prescription increased frequently until at age 18 I got a pair that I wore for 10 years straight due to financial considerations. At 28 I just got an eye exam and found that I actually need a slightly weaker prescription now! I know that eyesight does tend to stabilize upon reaching adulthood, but I have to wonder if "challenging" my eyes had something to do with the improvement.

-- Reva Lucien, OlyWA (fuiwdwytm@hotmail.com), March 30, 2002.

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