Share your top tips on getting your child to wear their specs with Specsavers: you could win a £250 voucher NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

The team at Specsavers know all about fitting specs and getting the correct prescription but would love to know from parents how you go about ensuring your child wears their specs when they need to.

They say "At Specsavers we have great deals on glasses for kids: all in our kids’ £64 and teens’ £85 ranges are free with under-16s’ NHS funding. And now, Specsavers will give you a second pair from the £64 or £85 range, free. Both pairs can come with SuperTough Trivex® single vision lenses with a scratch-resistant treatment. Or you can choose to have tinted prescription lenses and UV filter free in your second pair. We also have a fantastic range of children’s glasses to choose from, with fun designs including Moshi Monsters, Disney Princess, Star Wars, LEGO®, The Simpsons and many more.".

So, whether you have a spec wearing toddler, teen or any age in between please share on this thread your tips to ensure the glasses are on their noses when they should be!

Share your thoughts and everyone who does will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £250 voucher from here

Please note Specsavers may use your comments - anon of course - on their pages on MN, on their social media or possibly elsewhere - please only post if you're happy with this.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

[ouryve]

Tips? Hahahahaha!

DS1 will wear his, anyhow. He's short sighted and can't see the TV or wall displays clearly without them. He can't even stand taking them off for a few minutes and gets quite annoyed if he can't remember where he put them.

DS2 is a whole different kettle of fish. He's very long sighted with a strong astigmatism and has learning difficulties. We tried everything to get him to wear them. We eventually managed to persuade him to try them on, with a packet of chocolate buttons, and over a few weeks increased the time he'd keep them on to about 5 minutes, but then he sussed that it was easier to get the chocolate when he refused to put them on in the first place! The optologist ended up having to resort to giving him long acting eye drops that meant that he would only be able to see anything if he wore his glasses. That did the trick, but he still takes them off a lot. In fact, if anyone knows where his blue stripy glasses have got to, there's a packet of chocolate buttons in it, for you.

[starfishmummy]

I don't know.if this counts but ds has always worn his glasses willingly. Perhaps having both parents wearing them has helped because he sees them as something normal.

On the other hand getting him to wear them properly and not askew is harder!!

[ElephantsNeverForgive]

If the prescription is right and they make the world sharper they wear them.

The time DD2 said yes to every question and I'm certain they weren't strong enough, is the only time she kept losing them.

[teddygirlonce]

Actually not sure that the DCs need to be motivated/incentivised to wear glasses these days. The range of affordable specs for children bears no resemblance to the 'geeky NHS ones' of our own childhood.

It's almost part of the zeitgeist to wear glasses these days. DD seems to be counting down the days until an eye-test heads her in the general direction of fashionable frames!

Also, think it's easier to get the children to wear them if family and friends do so too! No problem for us then!

[barricade]

TIP ONE for getting child to wear glasses.

Boys are mad for superheroes right now ... discussed / presented images of Superman alter-ego Clark Kent - WEARS GLASSES. Spider-man alter-ego Peter Parker - WEARS GLASSES.
So I say, "By wearing glasses, you're my superhero in disguise!!" ... Job done

TIP TWO for getting child to wear glasses.

With the range of designer glasses available nowadays, it's no longer uncool to wear glasses. So, before the date for the latest eyesight test had arrived, the catalogue had already been extensively browsed and a super-chic eyewear specimen had already been selected - but purchase only if a promise was made to treasure the glasses!!

;o)

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Both of my dds had desperately wanted glasses for years and were so, so happy when, as teens, they finally needed them. Apparently big geeky glasses are all the rage, so they were both v pleased to get them! It was a relief actually - as a very shy and awkward teenager, I didn't tell anybody for ages that I couldn't see the board at school - stupid of me, but they seemed to have much more stigma back then.

[rupert23]

my son 7 is not keen on wearing his glasses but does so at school when he is reminded by his teacher. He likes to chose a pair with spiderman or something on the sides and then wears them at school. He has to be encouraged as he doesnt need to wear them all the time just for reading and writing really.

[missorinoco]

DS could tell his sight was worse, so glasses helped. I also let him choose the pair he liked, rather than the pair I liked, which I suspect madexa big difference.

[Apophenia]

I got DD1 a pair that were miniature versions of mine - she loves them because of that and wears them all the time.

[sharond101]

We used to tell my Cousin if he wore his glasses he would see all the colours people without glasses could never see. He felt special in that way.

[Hopezibah]

I think it is important to explain why it is good for your eye health to wear your glasses.

For very little kids, then it is just a case of perseverance but older ones need to understand the importance of it. A good optician explaining things to them helps.

My eldest son (10) has been told that he will need them in the near future and having seen the moshi monsters specs - He can't wait! So good styles that appeal to kids also important.

[littlequestion]

DS was 6 when he first needed them and not at all keen on the idea of wearing glasses. We said he could choose his own and he selected an orange pair. He's football mad so we congratulated him on choosing a pair in the colour worn by the Dutch national team and announced they were "footballer's glasses". We went home and researched players who wore glasses which helped too. I also ( after a LOT of searching) found a great football-themed glasses case which he loved.

Now his little brother is desperate to wear glasses too.....

[dahKill]

For young ones use a reward chart the same as you would for potty training, washing their hands, brushing their teeth.

[ScrambledEggAndToast]

I just didn't make it a "big" thing, just got it as part of his routine straight away so putting on his glasses was the same as putting on his pants He always chose his own frames so he felt involved in the process and had some bright orange ones that he used to love!

[TinklyLittleLaugh]

We spent a bit of time on the internet looking for cool people who wear glasses. Hurrah for Mark Cavendish, Lionel Messi and Harry Potter.

[TinklyLittleLaugh]

Argh, Kaka not Messi!

[meep]

Dd knows that she has to wear them or her eyes will "get sick". She says her eyes feel sore if she doesn't wear them. They are now just a part of her and she hardly notices them. It helps that she sees me wearing mine and knows her eyes are like mine too.

[SixImpossible]

Never had any problems getting my dc to wear their glasses during the few years that they were needed, except for dd's absent-minded forgetfulness. When the optician said that it was better for dd to forget to take them off than forget to put them on, she just wore them all day, even though they were meant to be for reading only.

But then I have weird dc who want to wear glasses and are glum whenever we come out of an optician appointment without a prescription.

[YesIcan]

We are at day 3 for my 2yr 1 month old.
We got them from Specsavers but optician was unable to fit properly as baby too tired to cooperate.
On Friday evening, DH forced them on, loud wailing ensued, then distraction - look at ..... Let's go play... And they were forgotten for a while.
We've gotten over the weekend like this. DS thinks of them from time to time and pulls them off. We ignore, but after a few mins when he is occupied elsewhere we slip them back on without him noticing.
In summary for a 2yo - distraction.

[ElephantsNeverForgive]

And for a young teen a better choice of intermediate sized frames please.

Last twice my slight preteen's head was too big for most kids frames, but too small for most adult ones.

We had a real hunt (and a visit to the next town in the pouring rain) before we found any she liked, that fitted, with the lens centres over her eyes.

[IvyMay]

No problem at all getting Dd or ds to wear the glasses - lots of great styles available now and doesn't seem to be any playground stigma about wearing them.

Only thing is when they take them off and leave them lying around (only need specs for looking at board or cinema etc at the mo) - so we repeat ad nauseum that specs have to be "on your face, or in their case"

[DifferentNow]

DD thinks she looks way cool in her glasses so she's quite happy to wear them. She's 13 though - it must be a nightmare for people with tiny DC pulling them off every 2 mins.

[DrankSangriaInThePark]

I think things have changed so much over the years it's really not a problem anymore.

I admit I was gutted when told dd had to have glasses. I had them since I was 6 and even now will not let anyone see me in them. I wear contacts and only glasses (like now) when am alone in the house. I was worried that dd would feel the same.

She loves choosing her glasses every year, and the staff in Specsavers (which is where we have always gone, this is not lickery!!) are fabulous, especially with children, so it's a whole new thing wrt the olden days when I visited a crotchety old woman and had to wear a great heavy thing round my head while she slotted bits and pieces in.

So no real tips, other than continue making children see it as the normal thing it is. 2 pairs is a good idea- one for schoolbag, one for house.

[xxmissbrightsidexx]

My 9yr old son has needed to wear glasses for a while now & the only tip I have really is to let them choose a pair that they like, my son chose a cool pair of Lego glasses from specsavers and his friends at school were jealous :)

[Jodunne]

I can't really add a tip as my 13 year old loves wearing her glasses so much we have to tell her to take them off!!!

As glasses are now being seen as more trendy and the styles are so nice I think most children will happily wear their glasses. It's thanks to companies such as Specsavers for this for making glasses more fashionable to all ages.