Ok Moms I Need Your Opinions

Has she complained about headaches? My eyes went from great to needing glasses very quickly, starting in 3rd grade. My eyes changed so fast that I had to get a new prescription every 8 months for a few years. My poor parents! I'm still wearing glasses today, but thankfully my eyes haven't changed in years. Anyway, I think your daughter is just wanting to fit in and be like her friend. If she was complaining of headaches, squinting to see things, sitting closer to the t.v., and not able to read things that she normally was able to read from a distance, then I would say take her in to get checked. Unless you notice these things, I would wait until the next scheduled check-up. Kids just want to be like their friends- if one has a pink purse, they all want a pink purse.

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It definitely sounds like she wants to be like her friend, however, you never know. Before you make that eye appointment there are a few things you can do...
have the school nurse do a vision screening
check with the local health dept. they often do vision screenings for free
keep a close eye on her, is see squinting, rubbing her eyes
contact her teacher to see if she's noticed anything

Good luck.

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I did not need glasses till the end of 3rd grade.

To test her on your own....Do not mention anything about this eyesight thing and then, the easiest way to see if she needs glasses is to have her "help" you read street signs. Find a business or an address in a non familiar area and search for a particular address.

Pretend you are going somewhere you have never been and have her read out the street signs when she can focus on them..

Also do this a night.
This is a great way to test eyesight for anyone..

Also if she does need a prescription, I have a friend that swears by this online eyeglass place.. http://www.zennioptical.com/home.php

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I took my daughter to the pediatrian when my daughter was complaining of headaches. Because I couldnt afford an eye appt. they told me that it was just stress from reading to much and computer work. they did check her eyes and said she could see fine. OK. so a couple months later the headaches continued so I did make an appt. Her eyes are horrible she couldnt see at all. So money well spent.

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We used to get our eyes checked at school by the school nurse. If there was a problem, they would tell our parents to have us checked by an eye doctor with better equipment. If you want an easy second opinion, could you see if they will do that? Do they even still do eye and hearing tests at school? Maybe if the school nurse agrees with the doctor that her vision is fine, she will let it go.

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This post made me laugh, only because your daughter sounds like ME from when I was in 2nd grade. I wanted them so bad and lied to get them. I told my mom that I had a hard time seeing- when she took me into the eye doctor I purposely fudged my answers when they were going through the slides and when I had to read the letters. My process in getting glasses succeeded, except the prescriptions were so strong that it hurt my eyes to wear them so I never did... She ended up taking me to a specialist who, I'm pretty sure, said that I was perfectly fine :) hehehe if kids want something bad enough, they'll get it. That was 2nd grade and I'm 23 now. Not that you shouldn't trust your daughter but this is a true story =D

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There is a screening test wear a machine screens for vision problems. Usually this is what they use at the peds office nowadays. Can't believe I just used "nowadays". If your insurance is good, maybe it'd be worth a co-pay to get it checked out. Otherwise school health clerk (rarely nurses) could do a preliminary check.
Good luck. As a young 4-eyes I hope that she has many more glass-less years.
S.

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I would just watch her for a few days and see if she ever squints to see better. That's how I knew I needed glasses.

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does she squint or get headaches. if so get them checked. another way of telling if she just wants glasses is to hold a book in front of her move it forward and away and see if she can still read it. other than that a judgement call trust your gut

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My parents didn't believe me in 10th grade when I said my eyes were having a hard time reading the chalk board in a math class. They reluctantly took me to the Optometrist, and I've worn glasses ever since. My eyesight really got bad in college and when I started working in front of computers.

If $ is tight, I'd recommend asking her randomly about what a sign says at different distances. When you're in the car, at the mall, at the grocery story, see if she can decipher or if she needs to squint to do so.

Not getting corrective lenses will create strain and more issues down the road (including head aches). But, it may be something that a trip to the dollar store and some non-corrective lenses can also take care of.

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Ask the school nurse to do a vision screening. They are trained to do these for a variety of reasons. I don't think he or she would mind, and it only takes a few minutes. Best of luck!

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Sounds like you may need a little psychology. Find something small - say a bird in the sky and say - Do you see that cool looking bird up there? Or pretend that you can't see a small letter or word and ask her what it says. If she says yes then you'll know she's pretending.

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My daughter is now 11. She always passed the regular doctor eye exams but I noticed her rubbing her eyes or trying to focus when reading. I took her to the eye doctor and sure enough she needed reading glasses. She reads so much better now and actually enjoy to read, not just because she has to. You could always try one of the chain stores--WM, Target...and have her try on a pair of the lower number glasses. First have her read the smallest size there and then do the glasses.
Good luck

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Holy cow I felt like I was reading my very same situation I also have a 9 year old daughter whos best friend got glasses and then all the sudden my daughter also had a hard time seeing I did take her to the eye doc I called my insurance and they told me which one took the insurance and then I call the eye doc to find out how much it was going to cost me we made it work. Yes she got glasses No the glasses are not needed her prescription is very very light...if you cant afford it right now dont do it...but it cant hurt to check into it Good Luck :)

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I would get them checked. I always told my mom throughout school I was having trouble seeing, and she ignored it, and I now have nerve damage from straining my eyes for so long. So, just to be safe, I would say get them checked.

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I'm afraid I did the same thing as Annie... I wanted glasses too when I was younger so my mom actually ended up giving me some fake glasses (no Rx in the lenses) for me to wear... but just like Annie I didn't wear em after a week. If she passed the test at the pediatrician visit she's probably fine - maybe ask her if she can read street signs? Or books to you? If she does have trouble with one or the other you can narrow it down to near or far sightedness... otherwise, if no consistency then it's just wanting to wear glasses. Good luck! ; )

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I wonder if you buy her some really cool sunglasses if that will appease her desire to have a pair glasses just like her friend. If, after getting her the sunglasses (I highly recommend you having her pick them out by the way, otherwise this probably won't work), she still is telling your that she has problems with her vision, you probably should take her in to get her vision checked again.

Do they check her eyes at school? My daughter who is 8 went through a stage in which she wanted eyeglasses and her eyes are fine.

You can find the eye chart online to print out (make sure it's the right size). It will tell you how far away to stand to test your eyes. Pin/tape it to the wall & measure the correct distance from it, mark the distance with a ruler or something & have your daughter stand there. See how well she can read the letters. The chart should show where 20/20 is, etc.

Go get her them fashion eye glasses. They do sell them now a days. Eye glasses are a trend now a days but don't ignore her complaints. Is she using computer daily? if so, she might have vision problem and does gradually changes in a matter of days. Just have her eyes checked in case she does need one.

Maybe you could ask of the school that they do an eye testing there. Explain your reasoning to them and money is too tight to just run to doctor. They usually give a yearly exam. Free of charge to you. Good luck !

Could you just call your pediatrician's office and ask if you could bring her in right before they close and have one of the nurses do the exam again? Maybe they wouldn't charge you.

Hi There! As the mother of 5 I have had some interesting experiances of a child wanting to be like a friend and having what they have. This has to be better than if she were teasing the other child for wearing glasses.
Take her to a Dollar Store and let her pick out a couple of pairs that are fun and let her enjoy then. It won't hurt her becasue you aren't getting a strong strength. I have 15 pairs becasue I like wearing different ones everyday to work to entertain my customers and the children love to see which ones I have on today. Good Luck