B.H. asks from Justin, TX on September 24, 2011
Kids & Glasses - Justin,TX
Hi All. I just found out that my 11 year old son needs to wear glasses. BIFOCALS no less. I feel like a terrible mother - for the past few years his teachers and I have been hounding him about his reading and comprehension and blaming a lot of his school trouble on his ADHD. Now come to find out the poor guy has been unable to see well enough to read near or far. To be fair, he has passed the vision screenings at school before, and has never complained so this came out of left field for me.
Anyway - he is a very active, and I mean ACTIVE, 11 year old. We selected the flex frames that are pretty much indestructible (ha). I'm looking for advice on how to make this a positive experience for him. Hubs and I both wear them, but none of his peers do. He'll need to wear them all day at school. I need him to keep them on his face, not destroy them, and not lose them.
Any advice from you wise-moms out there will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks! B.
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K.S. answers from Dallas on September 24, 2011
my advice is to buy from walmart they guarantee their frames for one year so if they get broken (my daughter typically goes through 2+ frames per year!) then they will replace them :)) they have frames that are below $10 & a lot of selections under $25...even if you already bought glasses if he breaks them & you have no warranty, if the lenses are fine take them to walmart because they can most likely fit the lenses into new frames & those frames will be under warranty for a year. (I wish I had known this 2 years ago!!)
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J.C. answers from Casper on September 24, 2011
Our son had to get glasses at age 5. We also bought the nearly indestructible frames because...well he is a boy. But for him we also got the strap that holds them in place. But if his eye sight is as bad as you are saying, you may not have to hound him about wearing his glasses. He may realize that he can see better with them on than without and that will make a world of difference. We always try and make it postive by letting our son pick out his own frames (with in reason though) and then they usually come with a cool case to put them in at night. But you may want to set up an awards system (working with his ADHD) and reward him for every time he wears them without having to be reminded or something. Use that till he gets used to wearing them and the you shouldn't have a problem.
J.--SAHM of 7
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J.W. answers from St. Louis on September 24, 2011
Not sure how long my oldest needed glasses. My older daughter and I were watching TV with him. He was squinting to read a phone number that was six inches tall on the screen. We both looked at each other and said glasses. He had just awful vision when we brought him in.
He really didn't mind once he got them. He also couldn't take care of anything, lost everything but managed to never lose his glasses or destroy them.
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R.K. answers from Boston on September 24, 2011
Walmart warranties them for a year no matter what. Buy two cheap pairs :)
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D.B. answers from Charlotte on September 24, 2011
Buy multiple pairs...
See if he will tolerate a strap on the earpieces to keep them on his face.
My son has a hard time keeping his lenses clean. His shirt doesn't work to clean them, and then he takes them off. I found out that they sell a lens that doesn't get dirty (how do they do that?) and I may just try that lens the next time he needs a prescription change. You might ask about that, depending on whether or not that is an issue with your son.
I hope it makes a big difference in the way he handles school. Don't feel bad, B.. We all do the best we can.
D.
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S.W. answers from Minneapolis on September 24, 2011
www.zennioptical.com sells glasses for $10 - $25. Several of my friends wear glasses purchased there and love them. You just need the prescription from your eye doctor and one measurement, that your eye doctor also has.
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S.H. answers from St. Louis on September 24, 2011
I was 13 when I began wearing glasses....an easy transition for me!
Both of my sons wore glasses at a younger age: older son was about 8 - & again no problems. Younger son was about 10 & only required them for reading. He was in a computer lab classroom that year...& it was the direct result of having a desktop fulltime. The next year, he was able to dump the glasses when he went back to a traditional classroom! He also adapted very easily.
Don't make a big deal out of it....plan for repairs & WalMart has always been my go-to-store for my sons' glasses!
One word of caution: I would get a 2nd opinion on the need for bifocals. We had a dr in our small town putting kids in bifocals when they really didn't need them. Never hurts to double check!
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A.C. answers from Boston on September 24, 2011
My daughter started wearing her glasses at 9 or 10. My best advice would be to get a copy of the Rx from the Dr, take advantage of the sales, and get him multiple pairs. Also my daughter was much more amicable about wearing them when I let her pick her own frames. Of course she's a girl and fashion is a big deal. Sears and JC Penny both have 2 for $88 or 2 for $99 a couple of times a year, at least in my neck of the woods. And Walmart has some good sales as well.
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J.C. answers from Philadelphia on September 24, 2011
My daughter went straight into contacts at 10 yo and loves them! My 8 yo wears glasses and I can't wait for her to wear contacts because they get bent and beat up pretty regularly. Contacts are just so much easier IMO.
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