Am i an idiot for worrying that DD has inherited my short-sightedness?

[AitchTwoOhOhSeven]

she's only one, and recently has started frowning a lot when looking at things for the first time.

now, of course she might just be cross, lord knows, but as someone who is really badly short-sighted and a total specky four eyes it does make me worry.

i'm sure i remember seeing someone say (could it have been twiglett?) that her son is being referred to someone, but i can't remember anything else.

do they do eye tests for babies? how can they? ooooh, i don't know anything any more...

god, kids' specs have got sooo much better since my day. she does look rather the slinky minx with them on, misdee...

i would rather dd not have my shitey eyesight, but equally if she does then i'd rather that we found out asap, iykwim? i equally remember all that business of not being able to see the blackboard before i got my specs (at 8 i think) and i don't want her to endure that either.

i'm going to ask my HV (whoever she is...) about getting her an eye test - WITH a gonk. thanks.

they used a light with a little monster topper on it for dd3. they also showed her 3d magic pics, you can only see them if your eyes are good, i can see them with my glasses on but not without. dd3 showed no interested in these at 10months, was noted to see her gagin in 6 months but she had the camera test, which cut out a lot of the middle 'wait and see' eye checks that some go through.

You know, when I was typing it I really had to reassure myself that I had the right word! Gonk! Blast from the past for me too.

Def get a referral from your health visitor. It doesn't hurt to be in the system if you see what I mean. I personally find it reassuring to know that ds will have subsequent checks even if it transpires that there are no problems.

My DH and all his family are very short sighted. DCs weren't showing any symptoms, but as it's clearly a very strong gene in the family (allong with height, which they are lucky to have inherited) I started taking them to the optician when they were 5 and 8. DS (youngest) didn't cope as well with the testing, as his reading wasn't strong and they just used the standard charts, but it was enough that the optician could confirm that he was fine. DD was fine - but this summer, her eyes had started to go (she's 11), so I gave myself a pat on the back for getting them into the system and catching it quickly - DH told me that he only realised he needed specs when he tried his brother's on and realised he could see!

So I think there's no harm in taking yours to be checked, whether via the GP or optician, and see what they say. If you have bad eyes it will at least get you into the routine of testing your DD regularly, and will reassure you if nothing else...and catch it quickly if, like mine, it eventually catches up with her.

By the way, my DD loves her glasses, they look really cool. She had not problems at school with teasing, although she was a bit nervous first day. Things have come a long way!

I was interested in what Pooka siad as I've never come across this before

" But my brother had an astigmatism, eye patch and glasses at a very young age, and has completely OK vision now."

My dd2 had exactly the same from age 5 to about 8 and doesn't wear glasses now, she is 21. She had some my little pony ones and barbie! No worries about girliness there.

exh weras his for astigmatism, as does my brother, mys sister wears galsses as did my mum but older.

DD1 has terrible eyesight galsses since 10 though she started with contacts at 12 and they really helped with self esteem as she hated glasses as did dd2.

DS doesn't seem to need them, he is dyslexic/dyspraxic as his challenge to overcome.

The eyetests were ltille children are very good as is the euecare.

yes i think dd1 needed hers before ten but disguised the fact. And even when she had them she used to take them off and hold them in her hand and put them on and off in school.

They are very fashionable aren't they?

I actually pretended to need glasses when I was 10! Convinced the optician and had some tortoishell elliptical onmes, only problem was they were too strong derrr so wearing them was a pain..and when I got fed up with the idea it became a bit of you should wear you glasses

I never confessed to my mum ever!

My eye sight is terrible, I'm long sighted (can't remember the numbers) have an astigmatism, a squint and non binocular vision, can't wear lenses for a number of reasons. I started wearing glasses when I was 4. I can honestly say I've never been bullied because of the glasses (for other reasons, yes, but glasses, no) Fortunately dd seems to be OK, taking after dh rather than me.

I was quite militant on the pink/blue front as well and went for black frames

I may be wrong - but he def had eye patch when really quite little and glasses until he was about 10, and then no need and still no need now he's nearly 40 (at how time has flown).

I have very bad eyesight, -7 and -8.

I took dd to an opticians when she was 3 and she needed glasses. She's been so good about wearing them. We have to go to the hospital every 6months for a checkup.

I was quite sad when she had to start wearing them as she looked so different with them on. Plus I know that its likely her eyesight will get worse as she gets older and if she ends up as bad as me then its a pita for swimming, sports, etc. But she's never been bothered and likes going to pick her Barbie pink glasses. 2 other girls in her class now wear glasses wich she was very excited about when they got them.

zippi, I used to do that - keep putting them on and taking them off. In fact, at primary school I wouldn't wear them at all - I used to break my pencil lead on purpose so I could go to the front of the room to sharpen it over the bin - I would take a long time over it and memorise what was on the board before going back to my seat.
I wore them as litle as possible at secondary school - just loathed them (and I used to wait for the bus and take them off as soon as I could read the number of the approaching bus - cos you know, those strangers on the bus really cared whether I wore specs or not )
Once I went to University I admitted defeat and wore them all the time - my friends at school didn't take it personally if I blanked them as they knew I couldn't see, but I thought I might find it hard making friends if I did it at University.
Worked in McDonald's that first Christmas in order to pay for contact lenses, which I have worn ever since.

Phew...that was a bit of a whistle-stop tour of my glasses-wearing history

aren't we a bunch of speccy bastards? LOL!