Glasses for children

Jolaaled

I took my son to opticians this week, as needs stronger lenses. When i asked about 'NHS frames' the optician said that these no longer existed, but that he did have some cheap ones .....at £16!!!!!. i said that i couldn't really afford that, and so he miraculously found some very nice frames that he said there would be no charge for!!!!

Is this true???? that there are no longer free frames for kids??? ...(apart from those only given to people like me, who make it clear that they're not about to pay??!!)

mini

Sounds like a con to me, I took my daughters prescription to Boots & they said I'd need to pay £150 for each pair for the type of lens that was recommended, NHS didn't cover it, walked out very upset & wondering how on earth I'd pay that for 2 pairs to another opticians who said they could do it for the value of the NHS voucher/prescription/piece of paper I had.


Well worth shopping around as I have found the frames vary a lot, they are some latest design ones which you have to pay extra for even in Asda opticians they are flexible & bend like you wouldn't believe!

mini

russ_c

Sounds like he was trying it on! we always get them on the NHS for my daughter from specsavers

Jolaaled

Well done, mini..glad you managed to find an optician that would provide your child with free frames.
I personally think it's pretty outrageous that some opticians will happily insist on charging crazy prices for children who need glasses.
it seems really unfair. After all, you don't expect your child's dentist to charge you for fillings/braces when they really need them.

bethscott1970

There are no such things as "National Health frames" anymore. Each child gets a NHS voucher with their prescription and this can be used for either the full cost or to go towards glasses. Remember you don't have to get the glasses from where you had the eye test just ask for the voucher and go where it's cheaper. The voucher value depends on the prescription to a certain extent as well, ie my son (12) gets a higher value voucher than my daughter (11) because he needs bifocal glasses and flexible frames due to various disabilities and she's just short sighted. There will always be opticians that take advantage but there again there will always be people (and children!) that insist on designer names even for glasses

Jolaaled

thanks Beth. I'm just annoyed that my optician gave me absolutely no indication that it was even possible to get free frames, until I specifically asked. They should be far more upfront about what is available, i think. There must be some sort of Code of Conduct for opticians.

Trow

I am afraid the optician is right - having said that opticians *usually* offer very cheap or free frames for kids.

What happens now is a kid is entitled to a voucher that covers a certain amount of money off the cost of spectacles, and it is entirely up to the optician what price they supply their goods at.

The change came about some time ago - if you remember the NHS frames were pretty awful in a choice of brown pink or blue. This systems does offer more choice to the individual and IMO is a better system (I am saying that as someone that had no choice but to wear brown NHS frames for 4 years, and have been wearing glasses ever since).

The advice to shop around is sound.

Glad

the voucher value depends on the prescription needed,

different opticians will have frames at different prices so shop around, some will offer you more than the value of the voucher to get your business

my daughters lenses would be 3/4 cm thick if I got the ordinary lenses but I pay £100 extra so she can have thinner ones, I also pay around £60 so she can have the narrowest frames possible as the lenses are still on the thick side and smaller means lighter,
she also wears contact lenses for sports and special occasions and I buy her 12 pairs a month for £12

after saying all that though the voucher is usually enough to get some lovely frames free I just choose the narrower type because of the thickness of the lens

Foxy

i found specsavers to be the best. a week ago both my girls i found needed glasses and (i had took them there for an eye test from my previous experience with bying glassses) the mention of money didnt come up they got given a section to chooses from and even when my daughter wanted gold ones she went to another section and let her choose between a gold pair and the one she had eventually chosen just to make sure she got the ones she really wanted. no mention of money ever came up. a few years ago now i went to conlons and although i had a voucher they charged me 40 quid on top as i have one eye that needs a pretty think lense. well now for mine i go to specsavers and it never costs me a penny and they are usually ready the same day or next day so may be worth going to see them next time your son needs the4m or if you havent already got them you could try taking your prescription to other opticians as you dont have to get the glasses the same place you got his eye tests if i remember right you just need the prescription as that was what i did when i got a prescription the first time for my daughters glasses as got it from the hospital. hope that helps:)

divadee

I can second asda for frames, little miss divadee had her eyes tested and while we were waiting i was looking at the glasses for kids, they had some that were free and then they had the bendy ones that mini mentioned, they were amazing and a brilliant idea for kids i think. i think you had to pay an extra £20 for them, but i thought that was cheap considering how easy it is to break glasses (well i break mine thats for sure). Little miss divadee was saying i want them ones i want them ones, she came out very dissapointed when she didnt need glasses i think they are a fashion thing now, i hate my glasses but she really wants some shes only 7 by the way

maybemischief

Hi I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post but im looking for some advice please.
My daughter has just had her school vision test and was recommended to see an optometrist.
We went today and She has been given the following eyesight prescription.
R sph +4.75 cyl -2.00 Axis 180.0 L sph +4.50 cyl -1.00 Axis 180.0

Apparently this is a temporary prescription as she will have to be referred to the hospital.

Im aware that this is a pretty serious eyesight problem but dont really understand the extent. Neither myself or my husband wear glasses and we hadnt noticed any problems with her. I feel terrible. Any advice please?