How Do I Get My 3 Yr Old to Wear Her Glasses?

Hi B.
When my son was about that age he also needed glasses and like you we took him we let him pick out his own frames, and then that was it once we got home with them he wanted no part of it. What I found helped was associating them with more children that wear glasses also going through popular magazines and showing them all the stars that they like that wear glasses helped alot. GOOD LUCK

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My son got glasses when he was just 2. He is nearsighted. We did not have too much difficulty with him wearing them b/c once he put them on, he realized how much better he could see. My advice would be to play up that aspect of the glasses. Point out that by wearing the glasses, she can see better. Maybe play a "game" where you have her look at pictures without her glasses and then with them on. Make a big deal about the fact that she recognized the pictures better when she wore her glasses.
If all else fails, they do make those straps that go around the head. It might make it more difficult for her to remove them. Although I agree with you that the more you try to make her wear them, the more she will resist.
Good Luck

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I don't want to sound presumptive, but my 5 year old just had her yearly physical and her eyesight was 20/40 in both eyes. The Dr. said that is normal for up to a 6 year old, that their eyes are not right on 20/20 yet. So possibly your child does not need glasses at all?? Just a thought.

C. R.

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My daughter has been wearing glasses for almost 2 years now. She is nearsighted so she only had to wear them while reading. He told me that it would be easier if I kept them on her all the time. So I asked what to do if she won't keep them on. His answer was simply...bribery! Whatever it takes. Her favorite candy, movie...the stuff that she doesn't get on a regular basis. Just keep it handy. Fortunately, I didn't need it. She has a fit when she doesn't have her glasses on. We just went to the dr yesterday for a check up. Her eye sight is getting better. 20/20 and 20/30. Do whatever it takes to get her wear them. It will help her in the long run. At least thats what the dr told me.
Good luck!
T.

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My youngest daughter (now 20) wore glasses since she was 2 years old and we never had a problem perhaps because just about everyone in family wore glasses. So maybe you could go to the local drug store and pick up a pair of those generic readers they have usually near prescription counter. The cost less than $15.00 and come in very weak strengths (1.25)so it wouldn't alter your true vision too much and just wear them to have comraderie with her. She just might feel she's the odd ball out.

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my son just got his glasses. he's 4 1/2. he was really angry with my for making him get them at first. but my brother and others in my family that wear them told him he was in a the "glasses club" and pointed out all the members in the family. my husband and i don't wear them either so we're not in the cool club. but the biggest thing that got him to deal and like them is that he could see better all around and i kept pointing out things that were clearer. good luck!

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B.
Perhaps she is not feeling well due to the 1/2 prescription. I speak from experience, as I have a problem with my left eye and not my right and was prescribed glasses and eventually took them off. I was dizzy, I'd get headaches, and it just didn't work for me. The dr told me to give it time, but it just did not work out for me. If you find that this is not the problem, perhaps making it fun will help her adjust. Together with her, buy a bead set and make her a glasses chain. Perhaps buy some tiny stickers and stick them on her glasses to show her that she can make them pretty. The suggestion from Pam W is great, perhaps she just needs a glasses buddy so she won't feel self concious. Good Luck.

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Hi B., Perhaps the perscription was not made correctly and she is not seeing an improvement when she wears the glasses or she may be seeing worse with them if it is not the proper perscription.
This recently happened to my 12 year old grandson, and he insisted everything was extremely blurry after getting a new perscription. My daughter and son-in-law didn't believe him at first but when they finally took him to have the perscription checked, they found out it was not made correctly and had to be redone. If the glasses were helping her she probably would not complain about wearing them, because it is more comfortable to wear glasses if you really need them.

Also, you could try getting an inexpensive frame for yourself and her dad w/o lenses or buy a pair of cheap sunglasses and remove the glass inserts and wear them around the house and see if perhaps she will attempt to emulate you. Do not say anything to her, such as, "look, mommy and daddy are wearing glasses"; just wear them and see how she reacts. Good luck! Grandma in Westchester

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We had to buy my son straps for his glasses. They hook right onto the glasses and then you tighten them at the back of the head. He would not keep them on unless we did this. After 6 months of "seeing" he didn't need the strap any more. He likes being able to see things clearly and with out the glasses everything was blurry. Of course after we reached that point surgery was recommended and now he doesn't wear glasses any more. But the straps were a life saver!!

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I think you should try to get a cool pair of fake ones for you, I think you could get cheap ones at the grocery store.:)good luck!

What about a Token System? She earns a token (poker chip or something along those lines) for wearing her glasses for a particular activity. She can save her tokens for a trip to McDonald's (I don't condone this for the food aspect...just the playland!)or a small toy, a trip to the park etc. You should have pictures of things that she would find meaningful and the # of tokens required. You can grade this as needed. When she is more consistently wearing the glasses you can phase out the token system. Oh, and praise praise praise when she puts them on without prompting! Just a thought! Good Luck to you!

My 2 1/2 year old son has the same thing--his right eye needs glasses. I do not wear glasses either, but when my son first got his glasses, I wanted him to see the entire family wearing glasses so that he would want to wear them. I bought a pair of non-prescription magnifying glasses at the drug store and I popped out the lenses (so that I could see normally) and I wore the frames for a few days. After a few days, I stopped wearing them and he was accustomed to wearing his glasses. FYI...I also had my husband and parents wear their glasses around him.

If this doesn't work, you might want to start a rewards system, stickers etc. Best of luck!

Can you have her call someone special...grandma/grandpa or an Aunt/Friend of the family who does wear glasses....they could start a club...only special people with glasses can be in...and to bad for you mommy cause you can't be in it and you can't do all the special things that they get to do...maybe out to lunch once a week/month...or special trips to the park or library...you could play up how much you want to join and wear your sun glasses around to see if they'll let you in....and speaking of the library ask them for childrens books on the subject, I found a muppet baby book on getting rid of the binki and another on bye bye blankie, there's got to be one for new glasses...and for potty training put something on the calander to do with her when she's a big girl...trip to the zoo, build a bear, movie what ever and cross of the days as you go and if she doesn't use diapers when you get to that day, you go....she's 3 and ready, it's a power struggle( just like the glasses) with the right motivation she'll train in a couple of days/week...once she starts to go on the potty keep track of time and fluids....my son always pee's at 10:30, so at 10 I would put him on, set her up for the least accidents and be prepared to take her to the bathroom in the middle of grocery shopping and Target with a smile on your face and after awhile the urge to pee in every public place will go away....best of luck, hope this helps.

hi! i have 3 children ranging from ages 29 to 17. my second child, a girl is 26. when she was 4 1/2 yrs old, we were told that she had ambiopia , but her eye never turned. i studied on those particular problems and i found out that a child whose eye does turn , may in time correct itself. but when a child's eye doesn't turn and they have the problem, they can loose whatever sight the child has. i drove my husband crazy running from one specialist to another. i did whatever i had to to help my child. to date her sight was saved. by years of eye therapy. i made her exercises a family event. we never treated her any differently. but we all helped in trying to retrain her eyes. thank the good lord , it worked. at that time she was in kindergarten. her teacher , at my daughters age, also suffered with the same problem. so her teacher was a big help, with my child running around with that horrible patch on her eye. her teacher than made sure that all the students respected my child. and she even made a class around her problem to educate the children in her class. i never had any problem. i wish you luck. i can only tell you try anything that works.

You can only get a 3 year old to do what a 3 year old wants to do. Even a few minutes a day wearing the glasses is a victory. At age 3 my daughter had a therapeutic glove that she is supposed to wear 3x day and she initially tried it and then refused. My spouse and I kept the glove with her things and offered to help her put it on with praise if she did and no positive or negative feedback if she did not. What actually worked best was when I pulled out a similar glove and suggested that we wear them together. You could have fun picking out non-prescription glasses for you to wear and maybe even baby sunglasses (or the cheap toy frames without lenses) for your youngest daughter so everyone can get involved.

There is a time when a parent has to be the parent and a child the child. If it was medication and needed to be given, we as parents need to make sure they take it.

It may not always be pleasant, but sometimes we need to force our children to do what is best for them. The alternatives where her eyes get worse is a big possiblity. Take it from someone who got glasses in 6th grade and didnt like to wear them that much, my eyes got progressivly worse.

Did they say to wear them while reading and watching TV or all times but reading and watching TV? (which is how mine was at first when I didnt, it went to wear all the time) If you dont wear them while reading, that strengthens the eye. So maybe you can make a deal, she will wear them in the morning get a break maybe from 11am until after nap time, then she wears them again from nap time until dinner time or bed time. (have her read a book with you or by herself during that time or a little TV, sitting back of course)

With strong willed children, coming up with a plan that they have some input in is best, have to be a little more creative. The book 'You cant make me, but you can persuade me", by Cynthia Tobis is excellent with ideas on strong willed children. But again, as a parent, it is our job to make sure they are doing what they need to, no matter how unpleasant the task.

Best of luck.

20/20 & 20/40. I wouldn't worry about it. My daughter was told she needed glasses when she was about 4 years old for the same reason. She wore them for about a week and then would never wear them again. I took her to another eye doctor and he said her eyes were fine and she didn't need glasses. The second eye doctor said she may have just had a bad day when she got her eyes checked the first time. Or one eye was a bit blurry. Or because she was so young when she had the test she was bored and wanted out of there so she just told the doctor what she thought he wanted to hear.

If you can get her to wear them, fine, but don't put too much pressure on her or she probably never will wear them. And get her eyes tested again by a different doctor. Make sure it's a different time of day for the next test then it was for the first one. That can make a big difference. The eye doctor told me that for some people in the morning their eyes may be bad but if they go in the afternoon their eyes are fine. Or visa versa.

B. - We went through the same thing with our son. He was the same age as your daughter, got the glasses, then wouldn't wear them. What changed his attitude was starting school. He is nearsighted so he needs them to see the board etc. I have a feeling that when your daughter starts an activity that requires them (like reading) she'll realize how useful they are. We also found that our son went through a phase where his prescription changed rapidly, so we had to get new lenses. He is 9 years old, in 3rd grade and wears his glasses faithfully. He even forgets to take them off when he goes to bed! Now if I can just get him to keep them clean....Good luck with your little one...

try keeping them on an 11 month old and a patch several hours a day. my son was diagnosed with glaucoma at 6 months old & had glasses by 11 months. be firm. especially if it's what's best. she may not be used to the firmness but she doesn't know what's best for her, you do. be the parent, no negotiations - just put them on & that's it. start slowly at first, a half hour, then more. i don't see a need for rewards regarding this. it may break your heart to see her upset but it's what's best for her. have strength, again you are the parent. and as far as pushing a child to do something and they then go the opposite way - that may be true in some situations but i feel that it's just an excuse for not being firm on the issue - it may just be glasses but this is her health you are dealing with and their should be no excuses for that.

Two of my grandchildren have to wear glasses. My grandson is 3 and my granddaughter is 4. My daughter had to use an eye patch for them a couple hours a day. My granddaughter was the worse to keep it on so then my daughter had to put eye drops in her eyes to dilate them and then she kept her glasses on because that's the only way she could see. Maybe you should talk to your doctor about these methods. Worked for these children and now they wear them fine and even ask for them in the mornings. Good luck. J.