Stella, in her shirt featuring a skull with a heart eye patch. From lifeandtimesofstella.com

Then yesterday, Amber wrote a great post on her blog about her daughter, the little fashion visionary, Stella, and the shirts they’ve found celebrating her eyewear – both glasses and patches.  She also noted that JCrew has a pair of glasses frames for girls listed for sale on their site.  It’s unclear from the site whether or not the frames are meant to be fit with prescription lenses, or used as purely cosmetic accessories.   I have to say, if they aren’t meant for prescription lenses, I would have a hard time justifying spending the money on the frames.  After going through so many struggles just getting Zoe to wear her glasses in the beginning, it just seems crazy to me to pay money to go through that and not get the benefit of better vision.  On the other hand, it certainly says something about how glasses are viewed if they’re offered as purely fashion accessories now.

Anyone else find any interesting glasses-related kids fashions?

Jack's injuries from his fall on his glasses.

Carolyn sent in a story about her son, Jack, who is 2 1/2 and wears Miraflex glasses for farsightedness.  He had been playing with his little sister, when he fell off his bed in just the right way that his lens popped out and pushed under his eyebrow.  The resulting cut from the lens required 6 stitches to close up.  As Carolyn wrote, they’re very thankful for the Miraflex glasses, as other frames could have broken and made the injury even worse.

Ann Felicia also wrote about her son getting a cut on his face from his glasses a couple of years ago.

This is definitely something to keep in mind when you’re looking for glasses for your child.  Think about how the frames and the lenses will handle falls or accidents.  The lens material is extremely important, and for this reason, polycarbonate is generally recommended for children since it is very hard and shatter proof.

Bennett in his prescription sports goggles from http://www.zleader.com/jamn.htm

Another thing to consider is sports goggles, especially if your child is participating in sports that are rough or could cause injuries to their eyes.  Accidents will happen, and we can’t always prepare for everything, but given how much we’re trying to take care of their vision, it makes sense to also be sure we’re protecting them from injuries.

From the facebook event:

Hear Dr. Susan Barry answer questions about difficult school experiences that resulted from her vision problems; how, for example, she was mislabeled as a low aptitude student and assigned to a special problems class, and what her mother did to help her child succeed. And more….. including what you can do to help your child succeed!”

Dr. Barry is the author of the book, “Fixing My Gaze” which talks about her experience growing up with strabismus, and never achieving stereoscopic vision until she started vision therapy as an adult.  The book is fascinating and her background as a neurobiologist is clear, as she explains the vision system in a very engaging and understandable matter (you can read my full review of her book).  I’m certain that the web interview will be very interesting as well.

More details: “seating is limited to the first 1,000 people to respond.  To register for this free event, go to:  www.joinawebinar.com and enter the webinar ID number, which is 547-423-251, your email address, etc.  Just follow the instructions from there.”  Again, as soon as I know more about the availability of a recorded session, I’ll let people know.

I read a review of the new book, Fancy Nancy Spectacular Spectacles by Jane O’Connor on Amblyopia Kids a few weeks ago.  Based on that review, and Zoe’s love of her Fancy Nancy shoes, I figured I should get a copy for her.  We got the book on Friday, and we’ve read it at least once every day since then.

For those that haven’t seen any other Fancy Nancy books (there’s quite a few of them now), the Fancy Nancy character is a young girl who loves all things fancy, and that includes accessories, clothing, and even words.

In the story of Spectacular Spectacles, Nancy’s friend Bree gets glasses because “in school, her eyes hurt a lot.”  Unlike a lot of kids’ books about glasses that focus on the difficulties that go along with getting glasses, this book focuses on how much Fancy Nancy loves her friend’s glasses, and how much she’d like to have some, too.  They are after all, lavender, glittery, and come with a silver case and a silk hankie to clean them.  It was quite nice to read a book where the character who wears the glasses doesn’t encounter any taunting or teasing, and the glasses are portrayed as something wonderful.  I also loved that there is a scene where the character Bree explains to her class about her trip to the eye doctor and getting glasses.  I think that our kids in glasses need to be able to talk about what those glasses mean, and Bree’s explanation is quite charming:

Bree had to read a chart with lots of letters on it.  The letters went from big to tiny.  “Glasses are like magic.  I can read tiny stuff now,” she says.  “Nothing looks blurry!”

When I first read Spectacular Spectacles (before reading it with Zoe – the book arrived while she was napping), I worried that Zoe would not relate much to the book.  The main character isn’t the one getting glasses, and I don’t think Zoe even remembers getting glasses.  But Zoe enjoyed it from the first time we read it, and has asked for it every night since then.  Even more exciting for me, is that the last few nights, she’s stopped me in the middle of the book to talk more about her glasses.  Before this, Zoe had never spoken much about her glasses or trips to the eye doctor, but now she’s starting talking about her most recent eye doctor trip, how the shapes on the chart were blurry, and that the “glasses place thought she needed new lenses for her glasses and now things aren’t blurry.”  It feels like this book helped give her the words to explain what she had experienced.

Fancy Nancy Spectacular Spectacles is an I Can Read book, listed as a beginning level reader.  Zoe is not yet reading, so I can’t comment on how easy it is for early readers to read, but it does have short, simple sentences.  The book does feature several long “fancy” words, which are listed at the back of the book.  I liked how those words, such as “spectacular” and “becoming” are used and explained in the story as well.

The illustrations are beautiful, and I found myself getting a bit jealous of Bree’s beautiful glasses.  I would absolutely recommend this book, especially for young girls who might be worried about their friends’ reactions to getting glasses.

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