2.7 DS to pursue with glasses or not?

[j0807bump]

just got back from optromitist (eye dr hence forth) and am really torn whether to carry on trying to get DS to keep his glasses on.

he is 2y7m and was given the glasses 3m ago. he has very slight turn (squint) in right eye and was given a +2 lense for this one and just glass in other lense.

the initial problem is he's not keen on them at all though i do persist (could do better i.e taping them to his head ) but my main consren is that he wont look through them but over the top

the turn has not improved and when mentioned this over top looking eye dr said this probably won't change until he is 6/7!

AIBU in thinking this could make any turns worse and i don't really want his eyes constantly looking up for next 5 years for what is only a small turn?

mil thinks i should ditch them but if i do and he developes worse probs later, its my fault isnt it.

any prof/similar situation advice welcome

[amazonianwoman]

Yes, stick with it. Switch to a bigger pair that are harder to look over if necessary.

DS had to start wearing glasses at 2y1m for a squint. It took a little while to get him to keep them on, then changing to some bigger (deeper) ones to discourage looking over, but it worked.

Now (3 this weekend) he wears them ALL the time, we've reverted to groovier slimmer oblong frames, and, most importantly, the squint is corrected while he wears them. So much so that he doesn't need a patch, for now at least.

As Pixie said, it's much easier than trying to get them to wear a patch - we tried several times a day for a month to get DS to wear a patch, but luckily don't have to now that glasses are working.

The earlier the squint is corrected the better the long term prognosis. MIL is (was) a paediatrician and stresses this every time we see her.

[j0807bump]

thanks for your comments.

the frames are pretty slim tbh. i think i'll go back and see if i can get them changed.

DH wanted the larger frames to start with

[lucykate]

i would persevere with the glasses. both my dc's have squints, dd's vision is the worst by far (+5 and +6). the squint is happening because he has one eye weaker than the other. the brain stops using the weak eye, relaxes the muscles, and the eye drifts. the glasses compensate the weaker eye, making the brain use them both. dd has done patching too, and it is very effective.

your ds is still very young, dd had her glasses from about 20 months, but it did take a year or so before she would keep them on properly. the problem you have is your ds's weaker eye prescription is only a +2, so for him, he feels he can see better without. even at dd's strong prescription she used to peep over her glasses (guess she was so used to blurry vision!). 3 months is still early days, keep going and he'll get used to them and forget they are there eventually.

did your ds choose his own frames?, there are lots of character ones now, mr men, beano, spongebob, scooby doo. dd was more convinced about her's when she got her first pair of barbie glasses at the age of 3.

[madwomanintheattic]

have you got curl sides and a silicone nose bridge instead of the usual nose pieces? you can also get a neoprene band instead of ordinary sides if it is a real problem (our opt was going to put lenses into babybanz lol)

dd2 has worn glasses since very tiny. once they are used to it they don't bother. she only looks over the top of glasses when they are new - we always go back and get them tightened up so she can't (ie the 'arms' shortened)

once he is a little older they will probably try to treat the squint a bit more aggressively - dd2 was having her prescription changed every 3 months at one point.

we've had a zillion pairs of barbie, mr tickle, little miss naughty, garfield, and are currently back on some disney princess or other...

[lucykate]

yes, forgot about those, dd had the curl sides too.

[j0807bump]

thanks all for your comments. i am returning ASAP to change frame sizes etc.

think the nose bridge may be an issue as DS has quite a flat nose. they did bend the arms to try and fit them around his ears but didn't really help much.

not to insult anyone but we got the glasses from specsavers rather than what i would call a traditional optictions(sorry every diff way i spell this it looks wrong!)
i'm 100% they all have same standards/training but do you think i should try a different one?

i might do anyway, this particular branch were pretty dismissive of my concerns.

thanks again

[chipmonkey]

I am an optometrist and find that a lot of childrens frames are more like scaled-down adult frames and they don't suit childrens faces at all. You may be better to find an opticians that specialises in childrens frames. In our practice we have usually found that Zeiss and Fisher-Price do the best-fitting frames for children although it has to be said that usually the best-fitting are not the best-looking!

The main thing is that the dispensing optician should be genuinely interested in finding a frame that works well and if there is nothing in stock for that child, they should be prepared to order something in specially.

I would definitely persist with the glasses as the younger the child, the better the result.

[lucykate]

we use specsavers, but it will totally depend on the particular branch. we started using a small local opticians, but they were useless, and switched to specsavers.

[madwomanintheattic]

we have used both with success - our first two opricians were small independents, and were very friendly/ helpful. they kept a box of dd2's spare bits (she went through quite a few frames lol) and used them to patch up new breakages to keep them going until replacements arrived. recently we have had 3 years of specsaver, who were absolutely fine, and much more choice of frames tbh - not that important at 2, but more important at 4,5,6! we have never had any trouble getting frames fitted/ altered or issues with professionalism anywhere tbh.

we've now moved again, so are back at an independent as it is the only glasses shop within a 3 hour drive lol

definitely ask for a silicone nose bridge as well. dd2 only stopped using hers last year at 5. we kept it for about 6 months longer than the curl sides.

[shona2]

Persevere, definitely. My son got his glasses at 2.7 years and it is still a bit of a struggle to get him to look through the glasses rather than over them but he now ( at 3 and a bit) will adjust them himself if they are slipping down his nose. He had the same issue (one eye turned in) and it is completely resolved when he's wearing the glasses. We go to an independent optician for his glasses and they are hardly ever busy so had plenty of time to bend the frames to fit his face and also gave us a strap that goes around his head to hold them in place. They also give him lollipops, stickers etc when we visit so he doesn't mind all the fuss. I very much doubt that the (large, big-box) store where I get my glasses would offer the same service. They are always insanely busy. Another thing is to make sure that your optician checks the prescription regularly. We were given an initial prescription and it was later determined that he needed a stronger one.

[amazonianwoman]

I use Vision Express for my glasses/contacts, but find the small local independent much better for DS.

They are part of the regional NHS shared care scheme, so regularly liase with the orthoptist etc. They have a huge range of kids' frames, plenty of toys, dedicated kids' area, not busy, can fix his glasses at the drop of a hat (have done many times!) The optician specialises in children. So all in all much better geared up for children imho.