Glasses for five year old?

[Fuamami]

Now that my dd is reading well, we have started noticing that she is not seeing well. I guess she's old enough for an eye exam, right? Any recommendations? Should I just take her to my regular eye doc? I was thinking of going to Costco, because we don't have vision insurance and it might be cheaper. But would a real optometrist be better for her first visit?

I'm so sad for her because I got glasses very early and am very near-sighted. And then last year I was diagnosed with macular degeneration. I hope this won't be her fate! And I hated my glasses.

[eclipse]

My son got his first glasses when he was four. We just took him to our regular optometrist, who was willing to rx for him as long as he was able to recognize letters to read the eye chart. (and he was reading well by then, so that wasn't a problem). FTR, whomever examines and rx's at costco is a real optometrist. If you suspect something more than standard nearsightedness, you'll want to look for an opthalmologist (preferably a pediatric one).

I hear you on growing up nearsited, though. I'm effectively blind without glasses or contacts . Luckily, my son's eyes aren't as bad as mine, so far.

[zeldamomma]

Once you have a prescription, you can order the glasses online for much much less. I have had a good experience with http://zennioptical.com

GL!

ZM (another nearly blind mama)

[CarrieMF]

I started taking my kids when they were 3. I was 7 when I got glasses(nearsighted). My oldest got her glasses when she was 7 too, her eyes WERE changing before that but they said there'd be no point in getting glasses yet because we'd have to get new ones every 6months.

Glasses have changed alot since we were kids. The biggest thing is they don't cover 3/4 of your face anymore.lol They're not teased for wearing them at school. In the elementary school here at least 1/4 of the kids wear glasses.

[alexsam]

Yes- 5 is old enough for an eye exam. And please, whoever else is reading this, you should actually start eye exams much earlier, as toddlers. Even before.

Who you see (Walmart, Cosco, a stand alone optomotrist) will all have the same qualifications. Find someone you like or get a reccomendation from a friend with children who sees them.

Also, glasses for children have changed dramatically in the past few years. My son got his first pair at 3 yrs old. They have flexon flexible, light frames, the "glass" is lightweight, scratch resistant super plastic so the glasses wiegh almost nothing and are very comfortable. He has bifocals, but they are lineless bifocals. No lies- they are expensive, but they are indescructible. And they are really sylish and cute. Actually, he gets a lot of comments on them about how cute he looks in them. I have to agree- he looks really adorable in them- Like a little hipster.

I would caution a bit about buying children's glasses on-line. It really helps to have someone who knows about fit to really get a good match for your child (which is hard to do on-line). Plus, many glasses stores will have some repair/replacement policy for the glasses they sell and will do minor adjustments for free (which kids need frequently).

The bottom line, I feel, with the glasses and all, is that kids this age are growing and learning so fast and so much. If they can't see, they cannot do their job. They are not fulfilling their potential and they are missing things. So, the eye exams, the glasses- yup. They are pricey. But what is the cost of a child being held back from being a kid because they can't see?

[zeldamomma]

Originally Posted by alexsam

Also, glasses for children have changed dramatically in the past few years. My son got his first pair at 3 yrs old. They have flexon flexible, light frames, the "glass" is lightweight, scratch resistant super plastic so the glasses wiegh almost nothing and are very comfortable. He has bifocals, but they are lineless bifocals. No lies- they are expensive, but they are indescructible. And they are really sylish and cute. Actually, he gets a lot of comments on them about how cute he looks in them. I have to agree- he looks really adorable in them- Like a little hipster.

I would caution a bit about buying children's glasses on-line. It really helps to have someone who knows about fit to really get a good match for your child (which is hard to do on-line). Plus, many glasses stores will have some repair/replacement policy for the glasses they sell and will do minor adjustments for free (which kids need frequently).

Flexon glasses are available online for $22 shipped (lenses and all). Adding lineless bifocals would cost another $30, but it's still a lot less than I paid for my dd's first pair of (non-bifocal) eyeglasses at a local shop (more than $100). I'm certain that the charge for any adjustments would never add up to the substantial price difference. I guess if you have the money lying around to pay for the service of a local store, that's great, but the online option might make a big difference for a family working with a tight budget.

Before you can order glasses online, you will need to measure the child's pupillary distance, but they give good instructions, and it's really not that hard.

I was nervous about ordering glasses online, but now that I've done it, I'll never use a brick and mortar glasses store again. The mark-up is just too high.

ZM

[eclipse]

Originally Posted by zeldamomma

Before you can order glasses online, you will need to measure the child's pupillary distance, but they give good instructions, and it's really not that hard.

You can actually the optometrist to write the pd on the rx.

[StephandOwen]

Originally Posted by Fuamami

I guess she's old enough for an eye exam, right? Any recommendations?

Yes, she's definately old enough for an eye exam. Maybe post in finding your tribe and see if anyone local has any recommendations?

My ds does go to a pediatric optomotrist, and has every year since he was 1, but that's because he has a 50/50 chance of having a genetic condition called retinitis pigmentosa. We can't take him to just any old optomotrist because the majority of them have no idea what this is, let alone be able to tell whether they see any signs of it. The one we take him to specializes in this disorder so we will continue with her for as long as possible.

If she's not reading letters well they also sometimes have an eye exam with pictures of things instead of letters. My ds loves the picture one (even though he can read).

[Fuamami]

Originally Posted by zeldamomma

Flexon glasses are available online for $22 shipped (lenses and all). Adding lineless bifocals would cost another $30, but it's still a lot less than I paid for my dd's first pair of (non-bifocal) eyeglasses at a local shop (more than $100). I'm certain that the charge for any adjustments would never add up to the substantial price difference. I guess if you have the money lying around to pay for the service of a local store, that's great, but the online option might make a big difference for a family working with a tight budget.

Before you can order glasses online, you will need to measure the child's pupillary distance, but they give good instructions, and it's really not that hard.

I was nervous about ordering glasses online, but now that I've done it, I'll never use a brick and mortar glasses store again. The mark-up is just too high.

ZM

Thanks so much for this information! I didn't realize this was an option.

I have a great optometrist but he's a little spendy, so I'm going to go to Costco for now.

Thanks everyone!

[MusicianDad]

Originally Posted by alexsam

Yes- 5 is old enough for an eye exam. And please, whoever else is reading this, you should actually start eye exams much earlier, as toddlers. Even before.

Who you see (Walmart, Cosco, a stand alone optomotrist) will all have the same qualifications. Find someone you like or get a reccomendation from a friend with children who sees them.

Also, glasses for children have changed dramatically in the past few years. My son got his first pair at 3 yrs old. They have flexon flexible, light frames, the "glass" is lightweight, scratch resistant super plastic so the glasses wiegh almost nothing and are very comfortable. He has bifocals, but they are lineless bifocals. No lies- they are expensive, but they are indescructible. And they are really sylish and cute. Actually, he gets a lot of comments on them about how cute he looks in them. I have to agree- he looks really adorable in them- Like a little hipster.

I would caution a bit about buying children's glasses on-line. It really helps to have someone who knows about fit to really get a good match for your child (which is hard to do on-line). Plus, many glasses stores will have some repair/replacement policy for the glasses they sell and will do minor adjustments for free (which kids need frequently).

The bottom line, I feel, with the glasses and all, is that kids this age are growing and learning so fast and so much. If they can't see, they cannot do their job. They are not fulfilling their potential and they are missing things. So, the eye exams, the glasses- yup. They are pricey. But what is the cost of a child being held back from being a kid because they can't see?

I agree with all except the idea that trouble seeing = not reaching their full potential. I was born legally blind and it hasn't stopped me from reaching my full potential.

That being said, I recommend doing a lot of research about shopping online for glasses, and personally wouldn't recommend it. Glasses are important enough that you need to know what quality your getting.

[alexsam]

Originally Posted by MusicianDad

I agree with all except the idea that trouble seeing = not reaching their full potential. I was born legally blind and it hasn't stopped me from reaching my full potential.

"Full potential" is different for everyone .

I just mean that if you CAN help your child see better with the addition of something as simple as glasses, why not?

My son will never have 20/20 vision (even with glasses). But they enrich his life...

Didn't mean to offend...

[MusicianDad]

Originally Posted by alexsam

"Full potential" is different for everyone .

I just mean that if you CAN help your child see better with the addition of something as simple as glasses, why not?

My son will never have 20/20 vision (even with glasses). But they enrich his life...

Didn't mean to offend...

I know you didn't mean to offend. If I though you hand, my responce would have been very different indeed.

[lucysmom]

Our DD got glasses at 3. She is also patching due to amblyopia in one eye. The effectiveness of patching drops off drastically at a later age, so catching any issue like that early is key. The glasses ended up being the easy part for us ... funny because I was terrified of telling her she had to have them, since I hated them so much when I got them at about 7. She thought it was great -- I guess because so many adults she knows, including me, have them. I agree with PPs, kid glasses now are so super-cute that it can just enhance your kid's style, and other kids seem to have no issues with them at all.

Good for you for paying attention & taking the initiative to get it checked out.

[Fuamami]

OK, luckily (sort of), ds2 is super sick and started chant-crying "Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" before we could even get into our visit today. They're running a special at Costco where all lenses are $39.99, and then the cheapest frames they had were $59.99. On the ZenniOptical site, the exact same frames are just $19.99, and that seems to include everything. So I'm going to get them online, and we'll find someone to adjust them. Thanks for the tip. I agree it's important to get a good fit, but I don't see spending $80 extra for it.

[spruce]

My daughter got glasses at one year old


Surgery at two years old.

My son got glasses at 3yo.

There are fabulous frames available for kids, and if you ask for something called "cable arms" (they are little curved pieces that go around the back of a child's ear, not visible, not a big deal, but keep the glasses from falling off!) then you'll be in much better shape.

If I were you I'd try to find a pediatric opthalmologist. They specialise in kids' eyes, and there are SO many things that can affect eyesight in kids, and SO many ways to treat...it's really important to get the basic scoop from someone knowledgeable.

After an initial PO appt, you can try going to someone not as deeply educated in kids' eyesight, because by then you and your child will have a far greater knowledge of what you're dealing with.

As an example, my Dd is now 13, is at +6.50 and +6.00 vision, and has been as high as +10.5 and as low as +3.25 since her long journey along the opthalmologic trail began at age 1.

She can wear contacts, but they cost us $340 for one pair, which have to last a year.

My other teen is nearsighted, and gets by very well with -.50 glasses.

But seeing a pediatric opthalmologist is a huge benefit to figuring out the best course of treatment for your child's eyesight.

love, penelope

[bits and bobs]

DD got glasses at 20 months. I noticed that as her peers have become older many many more are now in glasses. It's hard initially getting them used to it but she's amazing now at almost 5 and the only time she has them off is for bed.