Posted by: Ann Z | July 10, 2009

request for your thoughts: sunglasses round-up

Edited to add: Oops!  This is what I get when I post without looking to see if anyone else has written something recently…  I check to see how the post looks and find out that Amomofelly had the same thought and beat me to it. We’ll still get a post written up with a compilation of thoughts on sunglasses.  Feel free to comment on this post, or Amomofelly’s, and I’d still love to get more pictures of the different types of sunglasses.

cropped sunglassesAlright, so reading the comments recently, it sounds like we’ve got a number of people with different experiences with the different sunglasses options.  I’d like to write a round-up post that talks about the pros and cons of the different options: transition lenses, prescription sunglasses, clip-ons, (am I missing any other options?  I suppose you could do non-prescription sunglasses.).  So this is where you come in.  If you’re child is using one or more of these options for sunglasses, would you either leave a comment with a brief comments on what you liked and didn’t like?  Or email me – ann@shinypebble.com – especially if you wouldn’t mind submitting a picture.  Also, if you’re willing to share what you paid for them, and where you got them, I’d love to include that as well.

Thanks!

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Posted in toddlers with glasses

Posted by: amomofelly | July 10, 2009

What to do with this sunny weather?

This beautiful sunny weather in the summer makes for great outdoor playing, but how are you keeping your little ones eyes protected?

We bought the smallest pair of clip-ons available on the market and had them adjusted (bent the bridge into an upsidedown v). Since they didn’t fit the best on our 2nd pair of glasses, we also tried Zenni and ordered a super cute pink pair. They are not cable temples, however, and so Elly refuses to wear them.

What have you found works the best and where did you find it?2feb09 168

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Posted by: Ann Z | July 8, 2009

method of slowing the progression of nearsightedness in children shows promise (SMART Trial)

I just ran across a press release today announcing promising early results of a study named the Stabilization of Myopia by Accelerated Reshaping Technique (SMART) Trial -  The study is a five-year trial of a treatment called overnight orthokeratology (also known as corneal refractive therapy or vision shaping treatment).  In this treatment, patients wear a rigid, specially designed contact lens at night which reshapes the cornea leading to clearer vision during the day.   This treatment was approved in 2002 for use in the USA to treat myopia (or nearsightedness), and I believe it has been used elsewhere, particularly in Japan, for longer.  It is worth noting that the treatment does not cure nearsightedness; like glasses, it only treats it.  When patients go for a few nights without wearing the lenses, their vision will go back to their normal prescription.

The exciting thing about this trial, though, is that it is looking at whether overnight orthokeratology can actually slow or even stop the progression of myopia in children.  Myopia tends to get worse through childhood, and for parents with young children who are already significantly myopic, the idea of their vision worsening is very concerning.   As mentioned above, the SMART trial is a 5-year trial that will follow 300 children aged 8 – 14.  The trial is only one year in, however, the early results appear promising.  The children wearing the overnight orthokeratology lenses showed little to no change in their myopia, compared with those who wore soft contact lenses during the day whose nearsightedness got progressively worse.  It is worth noting that these results are coming from a press release, and nothing has been published in a peer reviewed journal yet – this isn’t surprising as the study isn’t finished – but it is building on existing studies which have shown similar results.   It will be very interesting to watch this study and see how the results look at the end of the trial, but the possibility of arresting the progression of nearsightedness is very exciting!

If you’d like to learn more, you can read more about the treatment and study in this article: Nighttime contact lenses show promise in controlling nearsightedness,  or see a video of two young girls using the lenses at Bright Eyes News.

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Posted in kids with glasses, medical stuff, myopia (nearsighted) | Tags: , , ,

Posted by: amomofelly | July 7, 2009

Week 6 – FrameHuggers

June09Washington 101Welcome to our patch challenge- WEEK 6.  My daughter is 2 ½ and has Amblyiopia.  We are currently trying to help her brain recognize her right eye.  She has perfect vision in her left eye and -7.75 in her right.  We have stepped up the patching since her vision has actually decreased the last 2 visits.

This week (last 3 weeks) I tried FrameHuggers

http://www.framehuggers.com/

Cost: 1 patch = $19.99 each + Free 1st class shipping

2 patches = $19.99 each + Free PRIORITY UPGRADE (SAVE $8.00)

3 patches = $19.99 each + Free 4th patch (see details below) + FREE PRIORITY UPGRADE(SAVE 27.95)

June09Washington 109

Ratings given 1-5 for the following criteria.

1 Doesn’t meet my expectations, 5 Exceeds my expectations

Cuteness Factor           5

Durability                      5

Full Eye Occlusion        5

Performs with sweat     5

Patching Support          5

Reusable                      Yes

Total patching hours for the week (As many hours as we can), Actual = around 70 hours YIPPEEEEEE!!!!

Elly’s response: We started trying a new patch yesterday and mid-day she took her glasses off and said, “Can I have my soft blue patch now?”  Also, about a week ago 2 different moms stopped us at Subway and asked where I found the patch.   They said their young kids at home are patching without success with the sticky patches.  I sent them to FrameHuggers and Elly started telling them that this patch was much better and that she can wear it all day to make her eyes stronger.  It was very touching.

Mom’s response;  This patch comes about as close as a mom could hope for to a perfect patch.  Camille at FrameHuggers is a great resource as she has experience working with children in an ophthalmologists office.  She custom makes each patch for your child’s glasses to ensure a good fit.  You can tell that she genuinely wants kids to improve their vision and is passionate about what she does. We actually were wearing the patch and it kept sliding down, so I called her and figured out we were putting it on the glasses wrong. (Guess I should have watched the video first)  http://www.framehuggers.com/instruction%20for%20use.htm That solved our drooping problem and there is literally no way that Elly can see.  The patch is very soft and comfortable to wear.  The down side is that it is a little bulky and does get hot when you are playing outside in 100 degree weather.  We only removed the patch for bath time, bedtime, and outside playing time when it was really hot.  She did AMAZING and kept the patch on for every waking moment the last 3 weeks.  My hubbie tried it on and said it was the most comfortable of all the patches.  We did wash it in cold water as the instructions said and it held up pretty good.  I would, however, not recommend adding a character to the front as we did.  The Nemo faded in the sun and is now a shade of peach.  Lots of kids comment on the Nemo and also want to try touching it.  My next one will be just a fabric one.  Last, but not least, I will warn you that they are expensive.  BUT, if you consider that I would have spent at least $7.00 a week on sticky patches, the cost for patching would be close to $28 per month, then this patch would pay for itself in 1 month.

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Posted in Patch Challenge, patching, toddlers with glasses

Posted by: Ann Z | July 6, 2009

explaining the whys and hows of glasses to young children

I recently came across the website whyzz.com – they try to answer the why and how questions in a way that understandable to kids ages 3 to 8.  I found a few questions and answers that might be of interest, especially if you find yourself trying to explain glasses or vision to young kids.  Some of the answers are a little high level for young kids, but I could really see them being of use if you were talking with a class of preschoolers or older.  What I really like is that all three of the answers include further activities and questions for exploring the topic more.

Here’s the three questions I found that have to do with glasses and vision.  There are no questions about patching, but you can contribute your own question and answer if anyone wants to take that on.  Are there other vision-related questions you’ve had to answer for kids?

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Posted in day in, day out, toddlers with glasses

Posted by: reader posts | July 2, 2009

Reader question: prescription swim goggles – updated

I know there was a little discussion about swim goggles in the post on when the glasses come off, but I just got this question from Heidi and wanted to put it out there and see if there were any other thoughts or experiences.  -Ann Z

Have you heard from any parents re: swimming w/kids in glasses or learned about prescription swim goggles?  Bennett’s 4.5 years old now and we’ve not done swim lessons since I’ve been having babies two of the last three summers, but now this boy needs some swim lessons.  :)  But I’m not sure how to handle it with the glasses and the sites I explored online only have prescriptions to -8/+8 for swim goggles.  We’re -12 & -8 so I’m not sure what we’ll do…

Anyone have experience with swim goggles for their kids, particularly with high prescriptions?

Update: I was just sent this link to prescription goggles by @nicolemarr via Twitter (um, by the way, Little Four Eyes is on Twitter, user name is, unsurprisingly littlefoureyes).  The goggles are not specifically child-sized, but they do offer the option of small bridge, the prescription range for these are +4 to -10, so a larger range than some.

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Posted by: Ann Z | June 30, 2009

Last day to vote in the Children’s Eye Foundation photo contest – updated

Update - the contest is now closed.  According to the website, results will be posted by July 10.  I wish I’d grabbed final numbers, but that doesn’t seem to be an option.

It seemed like the photo contest would never end.  For months, people would ask me if the voting was over, and how Zoe and other Little Four Eyes kids were doing.  Well, voting is over at the end of the day today.  Currently, I can’t even get to the CEF website because the server is too busy.  Some of our photos are doing quite well in the contest, I’m hoping at least a couple will be in the top 12 – winning the submitter a digital camera.  As for the photos that will be in the calendar… Children’s Eye Foundation says they’ll choose the photos from the top vote getters, though I don’t know what the cut off will be.  If you manage to get in to vote, I hope you can vote for a few of our pictures (or all of them), so we can get as many as possible in the running to be in the calendar.

Click on over to the photo contest post to see all the pictures submitted and links to vote.

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Posted in babies with glasses, kids with glasses, toddlers with glasses | Tags: ,

Posted by: Ann Z | June 30, 2009

open thread – responses

I’m pretty used to people commenting on Zoe’s glasses, and it seemed like she was getting fewer comments, but then there’s always those days.  This weekend we were out and about running errands, and I have no idea what it was, but we kept getting stopped by people who wanted to ask about her glasses, or tell us how cute they were (yes, we know).

Do you like when people comment on your child’s glasses?  Or would you rather they not make any big deal out of them?  I know I go back and forth between enjoying the attention Zoe gets and just finding it a little too much – for her part, Zoe doesn’t seem to care.  What’s the stranges comments or questions you’ve gotten (the weirdest for me was when someone asked if Zoe was wearing Sarah Palin glasses, which was just inexplicable – Zoe’s glasses were way cuter.)?

And this brings me to a related question – I’ve noticed more children who are patching, and I want to say something to them, along the lines of congratulating them for working to strengthen their eye, or complimenting the patch if it’s colorful or fun, but from reading the stories here and other places, it seems that kids who are patching are more self-conscious of the patches, and that a lot of parents work hard to get them to forget they’re there during the patching session.  So I’ve stayed quiet

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Posted in patching, reactions, toddlers with glasses

Posted by: Ann Z | June 25, 2009

noticing

This morning when I dropped Zoe off at daycare, one of the teachers told me that Zoe had come up to her yesterday and said, “Kathy, you wear glasses.  Just like Zoe!”  It was nice to hear that Zoe’s speaking more in full sentences (she’s been pretty shy about talking at daycare), but it made me a little sad that she’s now noticing who wears glasses and who doesn’t.  Ever since she got glasses, I’ve pointed out when others wear glasses, whether it’s characters on tv shows, or toys, or other children or family members – obviously not everyone I see, but I do make it a point in some cases.  I want her to see how wonderful and normal glasses can be.  But now I’m wondering if that does more to emphasize that glasses are something strange or different.

Any thoughts?  Do you point out other characters or people in glasses to your child?

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Posted in day in, day out, toddlers with glasses

Posted by: Ann Z | June 24, 2009

New guide for ordering glasses online

I’ve finally finished putting together the guide to ordering children’s glasses online, pulling from many of your comments and experiences.  It’s linked from the Resources and the Collected Wisdom pages.  I’m still quite hesitant about ordering primary glasses for Zoe online, but we had a good experience ordering her prescription sunglasses.  I’d love any of your comments or suggestions for the guide!

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Posted in glasses

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