Told both DSs need glasses...advice?

[PrinceCorum]

Dear all,

A bit surprised that after a few years of "everything fine" eye tests, the result of the most recent ones is that the opitician said both my DS 4 and DS 6 need glasses in order to prevent lazy eye developing - so he said essentially that their vision now is OK but lazy eye could develop and that wearing glasses would be a preventative. he was vague about how long they might need glasses for.

Was a bit shocked as it came out of the blue. Maybe it's not a big deal? But glasses at age 4 and 6 depresses me since neither parents needed tham as children and I worry about bullying and also whether wearing them now might actually make them dependent on glasses the rest of their lives...

Anyone ever felt like getting a second opinion from a different optician? Am I being paranoid or are some opiticians un-scrupulous enough to prescribe glasses to kids when they're not needed?

Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill?

What do you think?!

My Ds has worn glasses for a lazy eye since agee of three, he has never been bullied about it. The biggest problem was he was always breaking them when he was little, he is OK now. He wears them happily and even says he likes going for an eye exam.
I really don't think glasses would be recommended if they were not needed, best to get their sight corrected IMO

Can you go to your GP and get referred to your local childrens eye clinic?

I'd perhaps take them elsewhere and get another eye test to see what they say. But the lenses he has recommend may be ones that force the lazy eye he may have spotted to work harder.. I'd double check elsewhere though if you're unsure.

Lots of children have glasses, don't let it depress you. I had them from age 5. Also it's a myth that people get dependant on glasses. If you need glasses you need glasses. It's to do with the curve of your eyeball. Glasses make things clear, so obviously people want to wear them if it makes their vision clear.

Can you go to your GP and get referred to your local childrens eye clinic?

I don't think that would do any good to be honest, opticians are here for that reason.

We went to the opthamolgy dept at our local hospital initially but now he goes to a regular optician. They are brill at the hospital and have child friendly ways of eye testing, though there can be a long wait

I think it's very unlikely that an optician would prescribe glasses if they weren't needed. There's not much in it for them anyway because you can take your prescription to specsavers or online to buy the glasses.

That said, if you came away feeling confused about what was being recommended any why, I would certainly be tempted to get a second opinion. Or you could also go back to the original optician and ask them to explain better.

My dd needs glasses for short sightedness, and it did come on suddenly - went from fine to -2 in the space of 6 months. The optician said that wasn't unusual in children. She started wearing them at 7 and has never been teased about them or broken a pair.

children are normally dealt with by hospital orthoptists so you could ask for a referral. dd had glasses from 18 months (still has them age 10) and she was referred via the hv.

My 3 have this and have also had glasses since very early on - two of them also have had to patch the good eye to make the bad eye work better.

Keeping glasses on, clean(ish) and not losing or breaking them is a major thing here......

Patches these days are cool though - loads of designs to choose from!!

If they wear their glasses properly now, there is a chance of not needing them at all when they are older.....worth the pain and hassle at the moment.

Good luck!

If anything, having the glasses now means that they're less likely to need them in future, with this sort of problem.

And loads of kids wear glasses. About 1/4 of the kids in each of the boys' classes wear them. It will help, of course, if you can develop a positive attitude of your own.

There is no way an optician would prescribe glasses to a child if they didn't need them. I don't know any children who get bullied for wearing glasses these days, and you can pick some very cool eyepatches.

The optician will be vague about how long it will take as it's not an exact science. It's well worth persevering now with it all to prevent a lazy eye, and maybe needing an RX in the future.

Thanks all. DS4 is a real pocket rocket and I'm wondering how long the (NHS) glasses will last - how often will the NHS replace/repair them if they get lost of destroyed/broken?!

And it's not a big deal by the way. Ive seen hundreds of children prescribed glasses over the years, and it's very upsetting for the children when the parents are visibly gutted. The children are normally really happy and excited to have them!

As much as needed PrinceCorum. Maybe get him some spares?

Where I live all children are referred to the children's eye clinic and do not see a high street optician until the children's eye clinic are happy with them, my ds went for 4 years my dd only 2.

NHS glasses get fixed as many times as they get broken my ds has broke every pair he has had and we have had no problems get them replaced/repaired!

Thanks all for the reassurance. Of course I did not display any disappointment to the kids - DS6 was upset about being told he'd have to wear glasses despite the fact that I tried to be positive about it, DS4 is oblivious at present and I guess it won't hit home until they are fitted for them. Hopefully they can develop a positive attitude to them. I have no problem with the idea of them wearing them as long as though they are needed - I guess I've gotten paranoid having had some rather poor experiences myself with opiticians and GPs in the past - it's gotten me into thinking I need a second opinion about everything health related now - I need to snap out of it but when you suffer from wrong decisions yourself I guess you just want to protect your kids from it...