If both parents wear glasses...

[Readysetcake]

Do your children need them to? And if so what age did they start?

Both DH and I wear them so resigned that both DC with need them. Bit sad that it seems almost guaranteed as I hated wearing them as a pre teen and teenager and was ecstatic when I could wear contacts. Don’t want my kids to feel like that. Though I’m not bothered now.

Obviously I’ll never tell my children how I felt as a child and will highlight how common and stylish glasses are and yet my best to make it a non issue/positive etc etc.

I’m asking as eldest is 5 and wondering if I need to get her eyes checked. Or what signs to look out for as she grows. Any experiences gratefully received.

Both my parents wear them. I'm 45 and still don't need them

Depends on reason why need glasses and when got glasses?
My kids are fine but I didn't need glasses till puberty

Both my parents wear glasses - mother very short sighted, father lying sighted. I've only recently had to start using reading glasses (45) but long vision is fine. My sister is very short sighted like our mother and wore glasses from mid-teens.

Long sighted, not lying!

Both my parents wear glasses. DB needed them from pre-school age, me from 13, DSis as an adult and youngest DB doesn’t yet.

DH doesn’t wear them and so far neither does DS (11). DH’s parents have only needed reading glasses as they get older.

We both wear glasses (I'm very short sighted and wear them all time, DH only wears his for driving really)

Both DS (8) and DD (7) wear glasses for reading and screen time and have done since they started school.

They love them 🤷‍♀️, glasses have come a long way since the 80s NHS frames I had!!

Definitely get a sight test, they check the health of the eye too which is a good for screening of other potential health issues.

Both DH and I have worn glasses from age 8. All our children needed them from the same age. I would definitely take your child for an eye test now just to be sure.

Well it depends on why they have glasses. Both my parents do (but then one only has one eye.) But my dad has had treatment so now only wears part time. I do as do all my siblings and quite a few nieces and nephews.

I'm short sighted. My DD is too. Her teacher noticed she was squinting to see the board. She was 8 when she got her first pair of glasses.
She seems quite happy to wear her glasses and I was too at her age. It was only when I reached the age of socialising in bars etc that I started to feel self conscious about glasses but thankfully attitudes have changed and contact lenses are a lot more comfortable than they used to be.

Dh and I both wear glasses, both started needing them as teenagers. Dd1 needed them from about 14/15. Dd2 is 10 and doesn't need them yet, but we're getting her checked every year as we're pretty sure she'll need them at some point.

I don’t think it’s always inevitable.

I’ve had glasses for watching tv since I was 13. Last year I got my first pair of reading glasses.
My husband has had glasses since he was very small. Our eldest dd is very short sighted and can barely see with out her glasses she’s had them since she was 13 too. Our younger dd has perfect eyesight.

My mum got reading glasses in her late 30’s/early 40’s. My dad, in his 60’s still doesn’t have any glasses. My brother doesn’t need glasses either.

Ex and I both wear glasses (both short sighted).
DS1 got glasses at 8. Didn't need them anymore at 9 and now, at 16 has a very weak prescription in one eye so has glasses "just in case".

DS2 got glasses at 8ish. He's now 13 and his prescription is nearly as strong as mine. His vision deteriorated so much since his last test that he's on a 6 month recall!

There are some seriously cool frames available now. DS2 cried when he didn't need glasses because they had gruffalo ones

Thanks for the replies. Both DH and I are v short sighted -4.5 and -5 respectively so neither of us can see without our glasses! I started wearing them around 6 and DH as a teenager. So it seems very likely kids will need them. I will look into getting an eye test for DD just to make sure she doesn’t need them yet.

Do schools still do a sight check? That’s how I was picked up. And whoever said NHS has come along way thank god for that. My first pair made me look like a mini Dedrie Barlow. Contacts are amazing. But I stopped wearing them as much after I scared my eye from wearing them too much in my 20’s and getting bacterial scarring. (I used to fall asleep in them after a night out ).

DH and I are both (very) short sighted and can't see without our glasses. We both started needing glasses as teenagers (FWIW both my parents also wear glasses). We expected dd to also be similar (to have to wear glasses as a teenager). I duely took her to her first optician appointment at the age of 3 (as recommended by the NHS) and I was completely surprised to learn that she needed glasses then! (No signs of poor vision had been visible to either me or the childminder). We've never had an issue with wearing the glasses, she's worn them happily all the time since then (she's now 8) and actually enjoys going to the optician for her annual eye test!

Both parents very short sighted, DB very short sighted from early teens. I still don't wear any glasses though showing very faint signs of short sightedness now (30s) still not in glasses though.

Dad had glasse, Mum didn’t. I was 12 and my sister 8 when we got ours.

DH had glasses as a child and then from early 40.

DD got glasses when she was 8 and stopped needing them when she was 12.

I think the stigma of wearing glasses is mostly over. It is often inconvenient but DD never had issues or was teased.

The eye test at school was a quick affair, a friend’s DD was found out but she has quite a high prescription. We took DD at the end of Reception for the first time, it is easier if they know the letters and the optition was fine with her using phonics instead of letter names.
Eye tests are free for children and even without glasses they should go each year.

I am v short-sighted -7.50 diopters so almost literally as blind as a bat. Wore glasses from age 6 and also had the stylish elastoplast eye patch. To add insult to injury my mother made me have the NHS blue ones because only pretty girls could wear pink.

DH needed reading glasses at about 50.

DS and DD both needed glasses by about 11. Both now wear contacts. I always took them for an annual optician apt from about age 5 because my sight was so poor and only picked up by the school nurse. I struggled with reading and colouring and drawing and as soon as I got my glasses I was free reading within a month. I still remember "seeing" the leaves on trees and the pattern on grannies wallpaper.

Why do parents think things like this may be the responsibility of teachers and nurses? It's the responsibility of the parent and teachers/nurses pick up the children whose parents don't prioritise their health.

Oh blimey @BlackLambAndGreyFalcoln I better get DD to the optician ASAP! Glad there are no issues wearing them. Hopefully they’ll both be fine. I’m sure the issue was more my low self esteem as a kid rather than the glasses themselves.

Me and husband wear glasses, dd doesn't (12 with yearly eye checks) ds does (8 and was under the hospital for a squint until last year)

Both my parents wore glasses and my mum's eyesight is awful. Myself, brother and sister are all now late 30s, early 40s and none of us wears glasses.

I do. DH does. Our respective siblings don't. Our parents didn't until later life.
Our dd doesn't.

Good luck @Readysetcake! Just to say that it doesn't matter if she doesn't know her letters yet - the optician should have a chart with pictures instead of numbers for pre-schoolers.

Neither dh or i wore glasses but dd needed them from 18 months as she had a squint and was long sighted. We got ds's eyes tested fairly young because of this and they both get annual eye tests.
I'd book an eye test with a local optician and go from there

I actually asked my optician about it as both my parents are short sighted, as are me and my DB, and my DH was until he got lasered. He said it’s only severe shortsightedness that’s hereditary. So we'll see. I don’t mind wearing glasses per se but would prefer it for my kids if they were spared the bother.

Do get them tested as itsnot obvious when a child isn't seeing properly. We discovered when DS was four that he couldn't see something on the side of a bus. He had a lazy eye and we had no idea. I was mortified.