How to get 1 year old to keep glasses on?

[Dysgu]

DD2 has been prescribed glasses for her long-sightedness. We picked them up today but she has absolutely NO interest in wearing them.

We are not beginners when it comes to glasses - I wear them for short-sightedness and DD1 has worn them, for long-sightedness, since she was 2.3yo (she is now 4.3yo and we have never has any issues with her wearing them, even the patch she has to wear for 3 hours a day.)

I was hoping that DD2's glasses would make such a difference that she would want to wear them (we think this is the case with DD1 who has a prescription of +7.5) but DD2 only has a prescription of +3.75.

Is there such a thing as a band or something that we can use to fasten DD2's glasses to stay on her head?

In the interest's of honesty, DD2 actually turned 2 today but it seems that there is a HUGE difference between getting a 1 year old and and 2 year old to do something they are not keen on. DD1 loves sticker charts but DD2 doesn't seem 'mature' enough for such things yet.

Please help!

[ASecretLemonadeDrinker]

you can get head srap things, like swimming goggles

[Dysgu]

Thanks for posting - I did try googling and found some sports straps but don't really know what they are. If they are the rubber-type straps, I worry that it will pull her hair and hurt - which may not have the required outcome. Will have a closer hunt.

Any other ideas?

[Haylie17]

Hi, I am a dispensing optician so I have a few tricks up my sleeve you might find helpful. Unfort with the type of prescription your DD2 has she won't see an immediate diff in her vision when she puts the specs on (unlike DD1) but its important she wears them as her eyes will b working harder than necessary without them.

• spend a few days setting the alarm and slipping them on before she wakes up. That way her vision doesn't have a chance to adjust and she will find it blurry if she takes them off. u can also do this in the day if she still has naps
  
  
• Use a pipe cleaner to make a fake pair of specs for her favourite toy
  
  
• Dont make a fuss about her wearing them. If she takes them off, just take them off her, dont tell her off and put them on again half an hour later.
  
  I see alot of kids & parents who have turned it into a huge battle which the kid is always going to win! Patience & perservence is the key!
  
  Straps & curl sides can be considered but I personally feel that its just a matter of making them feel that its normal to wear their glasses, just like they would find it strange not to wear pants!
  
  Hope this helps & good luck!

[LadybeenKissingSantaClaus]

Can I ask, how did you know that you needed to get your DDs eyes tested? And how do they do it for (I assume) pre-verbal children?

I have quite bad short-sightedness and astigmatism and wore glasses from 7 and DH also wears glasses. Is it just a matter of taking DS to any optician or does it need a specialist referral?

[LadybeenKissingSantaClaus]

Actually, DS is now very verbal - so that's not such an issue, but am still curious about how the tests work that young age group.

[allbie]

3 of mine wear glasses for longsight. One was 9 months and yes, keeping them on was a struggle! We had glasses that curled round the ears and a strap that fastened to the arms but could be opened at the back with a clip. Took constant replacing and vigilance over a few weeks but in the end, they stayed on! No gimmicks, just perseverance. Our eyesight problem was flagged up by our son when he was 3 and kept covering one eye to look afar. I asked for a referral through the health visitor to the hospital. The other kids then got referred because of him.

[Balthasar]

How does one test a baby's eyesight reliably? and how do you know when a child needs to have sight tested?

[Dysgu]

Thank you for the replies - sorry for the delay in getting back to this thread but had to get some work done which meant staying away from MN!

Haylie17 thank you for the suggestions. We are generally very chilled and have been offering her her glasses to wear regularly during the day. She has even asked for them a couple of times - although we have yet to get her to keep them on for more than 2 or 3 minutes at a time!

However, we have not had much success today as she managed to twist one of the arms out of shape so we have to go back to the opticians to her it fixed - they were all closed today.

I will try the pipe cleaner idea - she is VERY into her dolls so that might be something she likes.

We might also try putting them on before she wakes up in the morning - although she is a pretty light sleeper, she usually sleeps through DP getting up at 5am so maybe he can out them on her then. Worth a try. Thank you.

To everyone who asked about eyesight tests for pre-verbal children: DD1 was born very early so her eyes were monitored from the very beginning. Everything seemed fine with her until she had just turned two when we noticed a squint. She was referred to the hospital's eye clinic by her consultant.

DD2 was also born early but with none of the problems that DD1 had. She was monitored 'just in case' and we noticed her squint in the summer when she was about 18 months old. She was referred to the hospital by her GP - after we had already had her checked out by DD1's optometrist to check we weren't imagining things.

For their eye tests - which are done annually, we have to put eye drops in that paralyses the lens in each eye. The optician then does the test wearing the 'funny glasses' so almost like in reverse from usual eye test. I am not the person to say how this works...

Then DD1 is seen by optometrist every 10-12 weeks at the hospital where they monitor her vision as she has long-sight, squint and lazy eye and wears a patch for 3 hours a day. They use pictures and toys - DD2 already has homework to play a matching game so that she can complete her 'tests' by pointing to the correct picture when the optometrist holds it up across the room. The distance seems to be measured and the pictures get smaller - DD1 now has to identify a specific picture in a row and will soon be able to use letters and a more 'normal' test.

Thanks again to everyone for replying - and here's hoping that we get the glasses fixed tomorrow.

[allbie]

You need to have a family history or reasonable doubt! The optometrist uses a variety of methods to test a baby's eyes. The iris is dilated so the specialist optician can view the lense( child's internal one!) as other lenses are placed in front of the eye. They use pictures rather than letters! They have loads of special things for the little on to look at.

[Ladybee]

Hmm, think I'll follow this up with Health Visitor then - haven't been to our clinic for a while so may as well pitch up at the beginning of the year.

Thanks - v interesting. I always find my own eye exams v taxing - trying to decide whether something is better or worse, interesting to see they have lots of options for littlies.