little four eyes

It took me a very long time before I could spell ophthalmologist right on the first try.  I guess one of the perks of a kid in glasses is that I can now type it quickly with no problem.  So I had to laugh when I this tweet from FakeAPStylebook (absolutely worth following if you enjoy funny tweets, it probably goes without saying that it has nothing to do with children’s eye issues):

Many thanks to our newest contributor, Nikki, for writing this – Ann Z

I just spent $1115.00 on lenses and frames for three members of our family and expect to buy our three-year-old’s first pair next month. We are not new to choosing from the long list of options when customizing glasses, though we had our own trials with differentiating which features and add-ons were important, cosmetic or just plain unnecessary.

First, ask questions. Go ahead and say that you need help deciding which options are important, the reasons for each and any cost or benefit.  Most opticians, optometrists, ophthalmologists, and even office staff want you to be genuinely happy with a very useful pair of glasses.  We often do this without our children present because it can take 30 minutes or so to make all your selections (even after deciding on frames) depending on how many pairs you’re buying.

Basics

We’ve learned poly-carbonate lenses are the way to go. These are also sometimes called Hi-index or safety glasses, and they are thinner than regular plastic. These are sometimes more expensive for adults, though usually no extra charge for people under 18 for the obvious safety reasons. They’re lighter weight, too, and they have built-in UV protection. Glass does resist scratching better, though. So, if you choose plastic, you’re gonna need coating.

Coatings

Scratch coating and anti-reflective/anti-glare are also worth it. Often, if you pay the charge for scratch-coating, your lenses can be replaced *for free* for up to one year. So, if you see even one scratch, take them in! Anti-glare is important for two reasons: 1) you seeing out and 2) others seeing in. First, anti-glare helps the glasses-wearer by reducing the ‘halo effect’ around lights. Second, with the coating, others see clearly through to your child’s (or your) beautiful eyes. This is especially nice in photos! Have you seen your reflection in someone else’s lenses? Anti-glare coating solves that, too.

Polarized and UV protection are most often associated with tinted glasses, aka sunglasses. We have chosen Transitions. (Photochromic is the generic term. There are many brands of this. Usually your office will offer just one. They all do the job!)  We love Transitions for several reasons. One is hyper-sensitive to light and these make a huge difference. It is also extremely difficult for a young child to be responsible for two pairs of glasses, and this eliminates the need. Their backup glasses are not Transitions, since they mostly sit in a drawer and are only to be used as a temporary replacement.

Extras

Some frames have wire arms or spring-hinges to build in some shock-absorbency. In my opinion, if you’re that active, get the sport glasses. We even have swim goggles that are prescription. (You gotta see the wall, right?) You can find these on-line at swim stores – as long as you know your prescription – and they are surprisingly inexpensive.

Service

Often, frames are under warranty for a year and almost every place will adjust and ‘tweak’ at no cost and as often as you need. Kids’ glasses can get bent just from running to you for a hug, so we are dropping by as often as once a week for adjustments.

Bottom Line

Our children are our top priority. Their vision and eye care top the list of health concerns. Few things are worn as often as glasses – think of the cost averaged over a year. Often, with all these options, my child’s glasses cost $300 or less. I have no stake in the eyewear industry, just in my kids.

Sources:

1. www.essilorjunior.com

2. The Seven Deadly Sins of Recommending Kids’ Lenses by Sharon Leonard, LDO, ABOC-AC, FCLSA

3. Victor Rosario, office manager
Coan Eye Care
Orlando, FL

For all you parents who lovingly patch your little ones.  Make these, give them away, but just don’t sell them!  These are inexpensive, light weight, covering, re-usable, and have a smooth texture.  They can be personalized to fit your child’s personality and the shape of their glasses. The idea came to me late one night from trying all the patches on the market and they have worked well for Elly and hopefully may work for you.  It was designed for those of you in Miraflex in mind – hopefully it will work!  It can and should be adapted to best fit your child’s needs and glasses.  I can make each patch in less than 3 minutes and could make at least 50 of them for less than $5.00.  If you can tie a knot and push a needle back and forth, you can make these!

Materials

craft foam, needle, thread, scissors, knife, tape, and the pattern

The following tutorial will demonstrate how to make a right left eye patch.

1. First cut out your foam pieces, add any extra fun pieces that you may want.  Remember, the more you add, the heavier your patch will be.  Linked here (Patch Pattern) is a pdf pattern of the main patch pieces.

2.  Assemble the pieces and hold them together with your fingers to make sure you are making your patch go the right way.  Sew your embellishments on to the rectangular section first.

3. Then, using a simple knot and a straight stitch, attach the rectangular piece to the main patch on the bottom.

4.  Fold the V in until the edges are touching and stitch through all 3 layers; top, front, and over the glasses pieces. (see, your stitches don’t have to be pretty!)

5.  Then place a square piece of tape on the triangular side.  This is to make the opening where the temples go through just a little sturdier.

6.  Using a knife or other sharp object, make a hole large enough for the temples to fit through.

And you are done =)    Well, with the patch part… here is how they go on the glasses.  I told Elliana that it was my job to put them on and off for the safety of the glasses.  These patches will fit snugly and I put them on slowly.  I made 2 patches and they each lasted me over a month when put on by a parent.

First slide the temples in between the main patch and the rectangular piece.  If you have cables, making sure the ends get in the smaller hole is a little tricky.  Those with Miraflex, I think you can take the band off.  If not, e-mail me and I will think of something.

Then pull through until the patch sits comfortably on the glasses.  I trimmed with my scissors around the nose piece so the patch sits inside of the plastic and a bit from the top so it rests comfortably on their forehead (thats why it is easier to make the pattern bigger and cut to fit).  If you have the regular nosepiece, then you could make a vertical slit for the nosepiece to fit into

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Last and not least, have your child try their glasses with the patch on.  Make sure it is not rubbing or irritating, trim with a scizzors to make it a perfect patch for your child.

Almost forgot… we learned the hard way… DON”T use red or dark pink like my pictures.  When they sweat the color comes off and turns the skin pink.  I would use light pink, blue, white, yellow and other light colors.  If you do make a patch, please send me a picture to post.  I have a couple more that we have been using daily – pictures of them to come later!

Zoe’s had glasses for over 2 1/2 years.  By now, I should know that I can’t get shirts with anything but the loosest neck over Zoe’s head without taking her glasses off first.  But I still forget on a regular basis (and yes, I forget to take my own off when I’m getting dressed – slow learner here).  Normally, Zoe reminds me, but today we had a particularly awkward encounter trying to get her swimsuit on with her glasses still on her face.  I’m pretty sure it looked pretty hilarious.  I expect I’ll remember to reliably take her glasses off right about the time she is able to get all of her shirts on and off herself.

It’s a common concern (and one that I hold) for parents of young kids in glasses:  Will my child be teased because of their glasses?  It doesn’t help that the plot of many of the books and movies about kids in glasses revolve around the child being teased and then figuring out how to deal with it.  But I wonder, how much of a reality is the teasing?  As far as I’m aware, no one has ever teased Zoe about her glasses.  Once at the playground, I overheard one older boy telling his father, “want to hear something silly?  There’s a baby in glasses!”  But while he was talking about Zoe, he wasn’t taunting her or even talking directly to her, and luckily, she was young enough that I don’t think she caught it at all.

I do know that eyewear is a lot nicer looking than it was when most of us were kids, and that more and more kids are wearing glasses, though usually at an older age than our kids.  Does this mean that the teasing for glasses will be less?  There was that study in 2008 that found that kids do not think glasses make other children less attractive or less athletic, though they do think other kids in glasses are smarter and more honest.  Does that translate into less teasing?

I’d love to hear from parents of older children about whether their kids have been teased about glasses, or whether they’ve observed kids making fun of others about their glasses.

I wanted to pass this along from Amblyopia Kids.  Belle is 5, and does a great job in this video of explaining why she wears a patch.  I love the idea of helping kids talk about why they have a patch (or glasses) in their own words, to help them feel more comfortable with it, and to answer the many questions that get asked.

Last month, we got the… “I am very sorry, but we will most likely need to have Elliana go back for another surgery.”  Her eyes were turning in.  We were doing everything that traditionally helps and it was only making the turn in worse.  I was not at all prepared for that.   So, they put her back in her full strength perscription and stopped patching.

Well, 2 weeks later, her eyes had shown significant improvement.  Go figure.  We were all impressed.  With a slight turn in of the right eye, we agreed to patch every other day for a couple hours so that her eyes would be given plenty of opportunity to practice teaming, since they are not working very well together.

Then, one day, this…

Did you see the eye turn?  Not sure where it came from, but it is back and doesn’t look like it is getting better. We stopped patching and dropped the lenses back a bit, but it is only getting worse.  I am feeling SUPER BUMMED.

We haven’t had an open thread in a while.

Some kids use glasses as teethers, some hide or break them, some fight patching tooth and nail, and some of us struggle with the changes that glasses and vision problems can mean for our children, or with rude comments from strangers.  What are the biggest struggles you’ve dealt with in having a child in glasses (or contacts, or patching, or other vision problems)?

This evening, Zoe and I were reading a book about different animals.  We got to a page with a picture of water buffalo, and she asked if they were nice.  “Yes,” I say, “remember that other story we read where they talked about them being gentle animals?”

“But the water buffalo will break my glasses,” says Zoe.

Zoe has never before mentioned any concern about anything breaking her glasses.  Intrigued, I ask her for more details.

“How would they break your glasses?” I ask.

“They are big animals, they could bonk them.  Or step on them.  Or even knock them off your face.  They would break my glasses,” she explains with every confidence.

So, there you have it, and I’m pretty certain you read it here first.  Water buffalo may pose a hazard to your child’s glasses.  You have been warned.

Water buffalo. A previously unknown threat to your child's glasses? Photo by Vince O'Sullivan, used under a Creative Commons license. Click for original.

Nicole just posted this question on the facebook group, and I thought I would post  it here in hopes that someone else may have experience or thoughts for her.

I am about to embark on full time eye patching of my 2 year old son, to see if we can gain some improvement of vision in his left eye, this needs to be done 24/7 for one full week. We then have to go for an appointment to the opthamologist and hopefully will see some improvement, as his vision is declining rapidly in his left eye. Not looking forward to this, prior patching for short durations has resulted in tantrums, pulling patches off, wrecking glasses and refusing to open his eye that isn’t patched. Has anyone been through a similar process and have any tips?