Young Children Being Told They Need Glasses

I’ll never forget the two days that both of my girls were told they needed glasses. One of my daughters learned she’d need glasses at the age of five and my other daughter learned of this fate at the age of twelve.

Just as adults wish to look nice and take time with clothes, hair and make-up, children are also very self conscious about what they look like. Children want to blend in, be just like everyone else. Wearing glasses take them out of the “norm” and makes them stick out just a bit.

I have a few ideas for helping children learn to love wearing their glasses. If at all possible, allow your children to help pick out their frames. The choice of frames can make a difference in whether a child is happy or not happy to wear the glasses. Choose a store that offers a wide variety of children’s frames. If you live in a small town and don’t have choices, look online. You can order the frames online and then have the lenses made and inserted locally. Often, you can even send the prescription and have the glasses made and shipped via an online order.

If at all possible, get the glasses on a Friday so that the first two and half days the child is wearing the glasses, it’s at home and not at school.

Remind your child that after a few days, no one will even notice. When a child cuts their hair, everyone notices. When a child gets braces, everyone notices. When a child gets glasses, everyone notices. In a day or two it’s no longer new and someone else now has something new going on.

Talk about how wonderful it will be to be able to see. One perk is that now the child can occasionally sit in the back and still be able to see everything going on.

Speak to the doctor about contact lenses only when the child is ready. My twelve year old did not want glasses. She wanted contact lenses. The doctor was not willing to allow them until a few criteria were met. A year later, she was allowed to get contacts and by then she wore them some of the time and her glasses the rest of the time.

It’s very normal for children to react negatively to the news they need glasses. Support for what they’re feeling is essential in helping them get used to their new apparatus.

Shop around and help your child get the best frames for their face and coloring. See if you can turn getting glasses into a fun buying experience for everyone.

Audrey :)
http://mytupperware.com/audreyoka