Glasses for 18 month old?

merdoom

Hello!
I have just recieved a prescription for glasses for my 18 month old son, and i am just wondering how i am supposed to make him wear them when he won't keep a hat or gloves on?
Plus he runs everywhere, and sometimes falls over and i am really worried he will break them and hurt himself.

Also does anyone have a reccomendation for a good opticians for kids, or where to get his glasses?
Not really sure where to start with this, any advice from other mums or dads?

Cheers!

Raggs_2

Wow. How bad is his eyesight? Although I can't recommend anything, when I was young (toddler I believe) the optician decided that even though I was longsighted in one eye, he would give it a while to see if it would improve. Now I'm 25 with perfect vision (can focus my eyes at will, means half the tests they run don't work properly). Basically the muscles involved with changing the shape of the lens strengthened as I needed.

Though it could be in your circumstance it's not possible, but still, 18 months seems very very young!

Perhaps try and get a sports band to basically strap them to his head?

savingmummy

A few of the children wear glasses at my dd`s nursery and as far as i know they do get used to them very quickly.
One little girl has 2 pairs just incase, she has them all the time and is praised. She has straps so she wears them as a necklace at times and as far as i`m aware they let her have `breaks` so she is now getting used to wearing them all day and enjoy 2 breaks as a treat for wearing them.

It is very hard and you can only do what you can to get your LO used to them, a bit like potty training and the likes its all alien to them.

Childrens glasses are made for children - to sustain bumps and throws so if they do break they shouldn`t cause him injury.
Is there chance of having a spare pair? maybe worth sorting this out.

merdoom

His prescription is +4.5 for both eyes (is that bad?) even though they said it was probably only his right eye as that one was turning in as he tried to focus, i have no idea how they worked out the strength seeing as they only shook a pencil at him For a minute and made him look at some pictures!

I also thought is was young to be wearing glasses, but the doctor said it was best to try and get him started early seeing as we knew he had a problem........
sports band might work, i was thinking perhaps you could get some kind of goggle type things??

edit-Ah, the necklace type straps make sense, but i just think he would pull them off, put them round his neck, fall over and break them as he is very, shall we say... active...(non stop, this boy never sits down!!)

savingmummy

Lots of tips here too http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/524473.html

leanneq

I know someone who got glasses at the same age. Same problem in that they wouldn't wear anything yet when he got the glasses, he realised instantly that he could see, so no issues whatsoever!
I hope it's the same for you. +4.5 is pretty poor so he will definitely notice the difference

Janepig

One of the little boys in DS's class in school has a baby brother who has been wearing glasses since around about his first birthday. To be fair I've never seen him pulling at them or anything and he looks soooooo cute in them.

I wear glasses and my prescription is +5.00 in my right eye and +4.75 in my left which is only marginally worse than your DS and my eyesight is pretty bad. I certainly wouldn't be able to manage without glasses (or contact lenses which I wear more often). So I agree that the simple fact that he can now see when he wears them may just be sufficient for him to keep them on!

Jxx

Indie_Kid

You may find (might be too young now) that once he gets used to them and realises he can see better, he won't try to take them off.

bigpound

18 months!? I'd check his eyesight myself if I were you.

merdoom

Thanks for the advice everyone, i suppose the only thing i can do is try and make him wear them, hopefully like you say he may even like them when he realises they help.
And i hate the thought that i am just a big blur to him!!

kitkat

Hi

My little boy was prescribed glasses too at 18 months old & i thought exactly the same as you & until I got the glasses I worried about how he would keep them on, but he really surprised me i said to him to try these on & i gave him a reward ie a little packet of buttons he had the glasses on all the way home in the car then he decided he didn't want them on.
so i left it for an hour or so then I put them on him again and was amazed how he just kept them on I think he could see so much better with them & ever since he wears them all the time with no problem
His perscription is 4.75 in one eye & 5.25 in the other which is quite bad, he also has a turn in one eye which the glasses correct but hopfully as time goes on his sight will improve he is now 3.5 yrs and we do go back to the optitions quite a bit ie his glasses bend & brake and need adjusting as they slip down his nose sometimes.
at least catching it at a young age there is more chance of the eye sight correcting with glasses until the eye has fully developed by the age of about 8 yrs old.
Good luck with your son hope he adjusts to them well.