Starting Glasses with Almost 5 Year Old Son

Heya C.~

I had to wear glasses that young too! I hated it...but my mom gave me role models and it didn't feel so bad. Does he like Superman? CLark Kent wears glasses. Also the kid in Stuart Little (George I think) and he is show in movie two as pretty popular. Mabye if he sees others in cool roles that wear glasses it won't be so bad?

C.,
It's so neat to see your posting. I just read a book to our boys last night called Freckleface Strawberry by Julianne Moore. Our oldest loves it tremendously. He has been reading it all week long. I feel that it would apply in your situation. The little girl hates her freckles and tries to hide them. By the end, she realizes that everyone likes her for who she is.

Our 5yr old has a friend who just got glasses last year. She is such a gem. Her mom has instilled in her to take them off when she plays and only to wear them when she is in class during school. She has been really good about this. Some of her friends even remind her to take them off. How cute is that.

As far as the taking care of them, when you clean yours or put them away at night, have your son participate with you. He has seen you with your glasses and most likely understands how important they are. By watching you, he will learn by your example.

By the way, my boys have broken at least 3-4 pairs of my glasses when they were little by grabbing them off my face. Once they turned 4, they had realized tha that glasses help me to see and that they are "mommy's specials", don't touch. They have gone to great lengths to make sure that my glasses are put up correctly if I set them down randomly and they don't touch the lenses. Most recently I have begun to try contacts again. They found it confusing that I wasn't wearing my glasses and have commented that I need to put them away in their case so they don't get broken. (Our boys are 5 & 8 now)

Your son will learn by watching you. Take time with him and share Freckleface Strawberry. It just might help him to realize that being different is great.

Cheers

Corrinne,

I found that most students in my class adjusted pretty quickly to wearing glasses. There are lots of books...one of my favorites is It's O.K. to be Different...by Todd Parr
http://www.amazon.com/Its-Okay-Different-Todd-Parr/dp/031...

I would also tell parents to spend a couple of weeks/days, with their child counting all the kids they saw that wore glasses, touting the benefits and telling them how handsome they look.

I had one mom take her daughter to Sears to get her picture taken so they could send it to all the grandparents and family, showing her new look. It really did the trick, she was so proud of her pictures. She wrote a little letter telling everyone how it was going to help her learn to read and how great she looked.

Good luck!

Do you ever watch "Arthur" on PBS. They are also books. Arthur needed to get glasses and didn't want them, even went through the effort to "lose" or "forget" them. You might want to see if you can find the video or check out the book. They are written by Marc Brown I think.

My daughter started wearing glasses when she was 3. She always wanted them on because they kept her lazy eye straight. However, it did become a problem when she got older and started playing sports and they would get knocked off. I have seen lots of other kids where glasses/goggles with a tight head wrap when playing sports. When she turned 9 she decided that she wanted contacts. She has always been responsible and her doctor said that there is not an age limit for contacts, some parents put their infants in contacts. She has done a great job with her contacts ever since (she is now 11). One thing I would definitely do is get your glasses at Rainbow Optics. Their policy is to replace the frames and lens, at no cost, if they are damaged for any reason during the first 12 months. Just bring them back to the store. I have brought them back in pieces when my dog chewed them up. One year, we had them replaced 4 times! Also, just to let you know, she has never been made fun because of her glasses. This was something that of course I was afraid of, but the kids these days just don't think much of it, not like when I was kid. Good Luck, I am sure he is going to look adorable!

My daughter doesn't need glasses yet - - so my husband and I are both blind and she really wants glasses - - I always tell her don't worry someday you'll need glasses hopefully that prepares her - so I'm assuming you wear contacts so maybe you can wear your glasses for a little while - I do like the idea of finding role models.

When I go my first glasses - I told me mom - I don't understand I always eat carrots - and my sister doesn't why do I have glasses.

Good luck!

My friend did bribery. A starburst for a specific amount of time wearing the glasses. They get less frequent as he becomes more adjusted. Good luck!

Hi C.,

My daughter started wearing glasses almost a year ago. She wanted her 2 front teeth for christmas, but got glasses instead. And that's no joke. Anyways, she was 6 1/2 and her teacher was a big help. She wasn't to put them on until she got to class, her teacher kept her glasses case on her desk, she was to take them off for recess and lunch (since they went outside for recess right afterwards), and she was to put them back on when she got back into class. We found out later that her friends also helped remind her to take them off and put them on. Then we waited till this past summer to get her use to wearing them all the time. She only needs so that we can hopefully correct her stigmatism that she developed.

I also have a friend who's son just started having to wear glasses and they purchased eye glass cords (I don't know what else to call them - they have the rubber loops that go onto the sides of your glasses and then if you take them off, they just hang around your neck). Anyways, there's a thought.

Kids glasses are so stylish now a days anyways, and I feel that you did right by having him pick them out.

Good Luck!

P.S. - The only big problem we have had with our daughter, is that she would take them off and put them on the floor. After scolding her for almost a year about it - she did it in a place where there were a lot of kids running around and they were stepped on. Only the frames busted, but she had just saved enough for an American Doll and we told her that the money was going to have to be used towards her new frames instead. That was 3 1/2 weeks ago and we haven't seen the glasses on the floor since.

My son started wearing glasses at 6 months old.. and he is now almost 5yrs old.. he loves them and says he looks like harry potter lol..
anyways we just made it seem really cool and exciting for him to have them and for him to be able to see so much better! now he asks for them the minute he wakes up, i also let him pick his own glasses out so he feels like its his decision and it makes him feel really important

I started wearing glasses in 7th grade, the same time I also had to wear retainers on my teeth. I felt like such a "geek," but I loved being able to see the black board and not have to sit up front with the brats :)

I was older, but certainly didn't want to wear glasses when I was in junior high. But when I got them I was so thrilled that I could actually see that I forgot to care. It literally felt like someone had come by and given the world a fresh coat of paint.

My son doesn't need glasses but I had to buy my first reading glasses and he didn't like the idea. He thought that only grandmas wear glasses and he didn't wanted me to be one. Than we watched Harry Potter and now he wants to wear glasses. The first movie is not that scary or violent. You need to find the real reason why he doesn't want to wear glasses and than start working on the problem from that point. Good luck!

My son had just turned 5 when we discovered he had a major eye problem. Luckily he no problem adjusting to glasses. He runs around just fine in his glasses and can play quite rough too. He has had the same pair of glasses for almost a year now and they have never broken. To clean them, use a pre-moistened cleaning cloth or run under warm water and wpie with a lint-free towel.