Eye-glass choice for 3yo

[BeeBliss]

My very spirited 3yo daughter will be getting glasses full-time for astigmatism shortly.

Does anyone have tips on

• what to buy (frame types, scratch-resistant coating, etc)
• how to get her to wear them all of the time
• how to teach her to care for them

Thanks in advance,
Christie

[ElaynesMom]

My almost 3 year wears glasses full time for accomodative esotropia. I find that she takes her glasses off less if they have cable temples (the arms that wrap around the ear). Unfortunately the office we went to had a painfully poor selection of toddler frames, and she has broken her glasses twice in less than 3 months. If you can find a pair that are flexible or have flexible arms they might be a good idea. We got the transitions coating which has been great as she doesn't need a second pair of prescription sungless for when we spend the day outside, they have scratched easier than I would have liked though, so next time I'm going to look into more scratch resistant lenses. The most important thing I think is to make sure the glasses are an excellent fit. Neither pair of glasses we've had fits as well as they should, and I'm frequently having to adjust her glasses. To be honest, I don't think the office we went to has a lot of experience fitting very young children. Thankfully she will be getting a new pair in about a month. If I lived anywhere close to an office that carried Fisher Price frames or Miraflex frames I would definitely consider those as they seems much more suitable for toddlers than scaled down versions of adult glasses.

Sorry I can't be of more help, this is relatively new to us as well.

[BeeBliss]

Elaine,
thank you for sharing your experiences!

We went to an office that is mainly for children, toddlers and babies. Our daughter is very sensitive to her environment so we needed to choose glasses that would not bother her face or ears. The optical tech suggested plastic with the spring hinges over the flexible metal because sensitive children don't like the nose pieces on the metal.

The tech also made sure the lens style would accommodate our DD's face: choosing glasses that wouldn't slip down so my DD could look over the frames, or frames too wide for her face.

I think I may buy the head strap aftermarket. We didn't get the solartints but we are thinking of getting the clip-ons only because it costs so much to replace the glasses if they break, this would be one last thing to replace.

So far, we are happy with the initial experience but we'll see what happens when we get the glasses on DD's face and she wears them at home.

For you next pair, I would ask your pediatrician who they recommend. We use the same office as the children's hospital here although the drive is over an hour one way.

Originally Posted by ElaynesMom

My almost 3 year wears glasses full time for accomodative esotropia. I find that she takes her glasses off less if they have cable temples (the arms that wrap around the ear). Unfortunately the office we went to had a painfully poor selection of toddler frames, and she has broken her glasses twice in less than 3 months. If you can find a pair that are flexible or have flexible arms they might be a good idea. We got the transitions coating which has been great as she doesn't need a second pair of prescription sungless for when we spend the day outside, they have scratched easier than I would have liked though, so next time I'm going to look into more scratch resistant lenses. The most important thing I think is to make sure the glasses are an excellent fit. Neither pair of glasses we've had fits as well as they should, and I'm frequently having to adjust her glasses. To be honest, I don't think the office we went to has a lot of experience fitting very young children. Thankfully she will be getting a new pair in about a month. If I lived anywhere close to an office that carried Fisher Price frames or Miraflex frames I would definitely consider those as they seems much more suitable for toddlers than scaled down versions of adult glasses.

Sorry I can't be of more help, this is relatively new to us as well.

[tanyalynn]

A friend of mine shared the phrase, "On the face or in the case," and it's been very helpful in reminding my son that he should either be wearing his glasses or they should be in his hard case. I'm washing his glasses at the same time I wash mine--I don't know when that will become his responsibility, he's 4, I think I'll keep doing it for a while.

We have plastic frames with flexible hinges and they've worked so far, though it's only been 3 months. The person helping us recommended against metal frames with adjustable nose pieces because once the nose piece breaks off (at the metal attached to the frame not just the replaceable piece of plastic that actually touches the nose), new frames are needed.

My son is very far-sighted and it seems his glasses improve his vision enough that he's happy to wear his glasses--I hope the same is true for you.

[dbsam]

My children started wearing glasses at age five. They have two pair each - a less expensive pair from Costco with transitions and an expensive pair from the eye doctor. They both prefer the Costco glasses. Because my children have such large heads, we purchased small adult glasses from Costco - they didn't have many children's options. My daughter wears her glasses all the time and puts them on w/out my asking (I wish she wore her eye patch as willingly). I believe it is because they help her so much. My son says he doesn't really need them and only wears them when I remind him. We keep all our glasses in one spot in the house - prior to this we found them laying all over or couldn't find them in the morning.

My daughter has a lot of sensory issues; luckily the glasses havn't been a problem.

We have three pair plastic frames and one pair wire. The transitions are great; my children always wore sunglasses prior to getting prescription glasses. Also, we've only had one pair break and that is because my daughter actually pulled off the arm. Even though it was her fault, Costco replaced them for free.

[OboePlayerMom]

My DD (almost 5) has been wearing glasses since she was 3. She has pink wire framed glasses with the flexible hinge, and she has really handled them well. She did have a pair completely destroyed when they fell off at pre-school and another child stepped right on them. We had to wait at least two weeks for the replacement glasses, which seems awfully long to me in our instant world. We will get a second pair for her before school starts this fall to have on hand in case her primary pair gets damaged again. Make sure you have a copy of her prescription - we forgot to get a copy which meant we were kind of stuck with the original optician ($$) to get the second pair. Now we have the prescription copied and will find some cheaper frames at BJ's.

For sunglasses, at Walgreen's I found sunglasses that fit over her glasses. They are adult sunglasses meant to go over glasses and they fit her pretty well. She wore them comfortably all week when we were at the beach this summer.

DH wears glasses, too, so he has taken on the responsibility of cleaning DD's glasses and making sure they are adjusted properly. When they're blurry, she'll take them off and say, "They're blobby," and we clean them off and back on they go. It has never really been a big deal to her and we've always tried to make it seem like no big deal.

[Aufilia]

DD got her first pair of glasses last year, at age 3 1/2. Thanks to losing the first pair (only to find it as soon as we bought another pair!) and then breaking a pair, she now has 3 pairs (only kinda broken, but it would do in a pinch). All 3 pairs are metal frames with lightweight plastic, scratch-resistant coated lenses. We haven't had any problems with scratching.

We don't use a strap or hooks at the ears, but the bars are bent down pretty far behind her ears just because she has a small face.

We also haven't had too much problem with DD keeping them on. She can see so much better with them on that once they're on for the day, they don't usually come off again until bedtime.

My two tips:

* Get the glasses somewhere convenient, because you might have to go back alot for adjustments. With the first pair, particularly, we were in there every week for awhile because the adjustment wasn't quite right, or DD would take off a nose pad, or she'd fall asleep on them, or whatever.

* Make sure the warranty really rocks. I was peevish to find out that the warranty on that 2nd pair, which subsequently got broken (there was an incident with a slide at the McDonalds playground) didn't really cover replacement. The reduced, AFTER-warranty cost of pair#3 was almost as high as the entire cost of the first pair we bought.

[BeeBliss]

All of your tips are all great!

I think I'll definitely have to get a cheaper second pair. And several eyeglass cases to follow, "On the face or in the case".

My daughter has a bad astigmatism but no far- or near-sightedness to correct for. I was told she may feel sick from that "floating feeling" once she starts wearing her glasses, which may make her not want to wear them. We'll see how it goes, maybe better than I had hoped.

[dbsam]

Originally Posted by BeeBliss

My daughter has a bad astigmatism but no far- or near-sightedness to correct for. I was told she may feel sick from that "floating feeling" once she starts wearing her glasses, which may make her not want to wear them. We'll see how it goes, maybe better than I had hoped.

My daughter also has a bad astigmatism; she prefers to wear her glasses and has no problems. Hopefully your daughter will feel the same.