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Original poster

How do you keep glasses on a baby?

26 replies

KristinaM · 29/01/2007 13:26

DS 12 month old has just been prescribed glasses. Any ideas on how to keep them on him? Are there are types of glasses that are baby-proof? What happens when he chews them, hits them off the wall etc etc etc ????

OP posts:
brandy7 · 29/01/2007 13:28

do they not have like an attachment that can go from earpeice to earpiece and round the back of the head? you know, to stop them falling off

misdee · 29/01/2007 13:32

dd3 wears zeiss glasses, they have curly bits that go round the ears. i also used a sports strap to start with.

she has had 5 pairs of glasses in 7months.

misdee · 29/01/2007 13:33

here

Original poster
KristinaM · 29/01/2007 13:35

how does she keep them on misdee

sorry for typing bf now !

OP posts:
Original poster
KristinaM · 29/01/2007 13:36

sorry i wasnt cl;ear - i mean how do you persuade her not to take them off??/ how old is she?

OP posts:
misdee · 29/01/2007 13:38

well i spent the first few months something like this, she takes them off, i put them off, she takes them off, i put then on she takes them off i put them on.

she is 2 next month and now cries at the end of the day when i take them off.

the curly ended ones means they stay on better. adding the sports strap (about £2) means it gives you a few moments longer keeping them on lol.

lou33 · 29/01/2007 13:43

same as misdee, but mine took to them fairly quickly, he is almost 6 now and has worn them since he was a year old

he has ear curls attached ( they bend right round the back of the ear)which certainly helped when he was smaller

MrsForgetful · 29/01/2007 13:55

my nephew had them at 1 for a squint and he took to them quickly...my ds1 at 4 was prescribed them for his squint...and his 1st comment was..."i can see mummy"...

so looking at my nephew i reckon he must of in his 1 year old way realised 'he could see'...and was glad!

my ds will need them for life... and NEVER have had to persuade him to wear them....

Original poster
KristinaM · 29/01/2007 14:48

he is getting them for a squint so his eyesight is fine IYSWIM. so its not like he's going to think " oh its much better with these on!!". I cant even keep a bib on him at mealtimes

guess its the misdee DD method then.....

will ask for sports strap and curly bits

is it worth paying for a second pair then, if they keep breaking them??? NHS only gets you one pair apparently

OP posts:
misdee · 29/01/2007 16:32

our opticians applied for a second pair of glasses for dd3, as she kept breakign them. becuase her perscription is very strong it takes anything upto 3 weeks to get her glasses, so she could see. its worth asking if they can apply for a second pair if your ds keeps breaking them.

dd3 currently has one pair on and one back in the opticians needing new lenses after she managed to scratch them badly.

MrsForgetful · 29/01/2007 16:43

Hi misdee...ds1 has actually managed a whole 18 months without damage/losing his...he's 13 now...so about time i say!!!

misdee · 29/01/2007 17:21

lol mrsF, not even i have managed that, i lost 3 pairs last year.

dd3 is 2 next month

AbbyLou · 29/01/2007 17:30

My ds got them at 13 months becasue he is very long-sighted. When he put them on it opened up a whole new world for him and he never once took them off. He also cries when I take them off to clean them. His prescription is very strong and like Misdee's dd they take a long while to make. They offered us two pairs right from the beginning as they said it wasn't fair to expect him to go without for 3 weeks if they broke. Between 12-18 months he got through load of pairs, sometimes they needed tightening or the lenses putting back in, sometimes new pairs. He is now 25 months and has had the same 2 pairs for ages.

Original poster
KristinaM · 29/01/2007 19:36

I dont think his presciption is strong so i hope that means they wont take long to repair. Are they expensive if we were to pay for a second pair ourselves? Sorry if thsi is a stupid question - its all new to me as a non-glasses wearer

are they made of glass or plastic? What if he breaks the glass ? i thought the frames were very fragile...?????

( can you tell I am very worried about all this... sorry misdee I know in the overall scheme of things this is NO BIG DEAL )

OP posts:
Original poster
KristinaM · 29/01/2007 20:13

have checked the prescription - they are +2.50 and +0.50

OP posts:
misdee · 29/01/2007 23:52

thats a nice low perscription!

dd3 are in the 7-9's lol and are very thick.

the lenses are glass but are treated i think so they dont break. we have had them scratched and a couple of frames broken, but generally thats jus ta screw coming lose and easy to fix. if you find a good independant opticians then they will try and repair ASAP, often there and then. we are v v well known in ours. dd3 frames are very practical and tougher than mine and dh's.

i dont know how much it is for a second pair, we got the 2nd pair free once they applied for it at the opticians.

dd3 reacted to 2 previous pairs, so we still have those in dire emergencies, but a 30min wear of them will bring her out in a rash.

Original poster
KristinaM · 31/01/2007 09:16

didnt realise that you coudl be allergic to glasses misdee. your family do like to do things teh complicated way dont they ?

went for teh fitting yesterday. in the end there was no choice of frames as none of the baby glasses fitted him because of his big head (although they very tactfully didnt say that) and he needs glasses with temple extenders. so no cute little coloured ones for him . he has to get these silver coloured wire rimmed glasses just like a middle aged man and they are sending them off to get the curly bits welded onto the legs

apparently if he loses them they will replace them

OP posts:
ShinyHappyPeopleHoldingHands · 31/01/2007 09:27

DS2 is 6 and has cp making his movements very eratic and him very heavy handed. He has had glasses since before he was 2 (is seriously long sighted) but it is still quite hit and miss as to how well he wears them in a particular day. We have had the curly ear piece ones the most but he currently has some quite trendy pairs (he has at least 2 pairs at a time because they break so often, he breaks approx. a pair a fortnight! ) that don't have the curly ear bits and he is tolerating them quite well.

Mostly he breaks them by accident but he will snatch them off at any given moment and someone will tred on them. He also lives to do beastly things with them; he enjoys this very much and will laugh for ages.. he nudges the car window open just a crack with his foot and once posted some out on the M6! Another time he chucked some off the high balcony at the Natural History Museum - the part where the dinosaur display is - and caused a rucus as staff had to climb into parts they don't routinely go to get them back!

We have found the small independent opticians are best; Specsavers just don't have the availabilty he needs. The opticians we are with are constantly on a mission to find frames that he will tolerate more and are currently shipping them in from Italy.. all under his voucher!!!

Keeping young childen in their specs is a process but few are as bad as DS I don't think, so don't worry too much.

misdee · 31/01/2007 09:31

yeah my kids like to react to weired stuff lol. its a mixture of the large rubber bridge making her skin sweat, then the sweat reacting with the metal frame. makes her nose look burnt and blistered.

she broke a pair yesterday, a screw appears to have gone and one arm is dangling off.

figroll · 31/01/2007 10:16

Coming in a bit late. My dd only threw hers off for the first few days and soon got used to them. She had curl sides on hers until she was about 5 or 6 so she was able to roll about and do the things kids do. She did chew the sides a bit, but this only affected the rubber coatings. If he has a squint the glasses may correct it in which case it makes his eyes more comfortable to wear them.

His prescription sounds very low - he may grow out of his long sightedness, as my dd started with 7s and 9s, but is down now to 3s and 5s.

Good luck!

kittylette · 31/01/2007 10:18

no experience here, but those little glasses are adorable!

Pitchounette · 31/01/2007 10:20

Message withdrawn

Original poster
KristinaM · 31/01/2007 21:07

thank you all for your advice

misdee - yes DS2 has to get that rubber thing as he is too young to have a bridge on his nose

figroll - the glasses are actually to try to correct his squint, which is quite bad. there is a 30% chance it will work, otherwise he will have to have an operation in about a year . DS1 also had a squint but grew out it when he was about 8 months ish

we saw a professor [impressed emoticon] at teh hospital who said that most babies are long sighted but they learn how to correct it themselves. At least that's what i think he said but Ds was fighting to get the box of lenses at the time.....

OP posts:
Original poster
KristinaM · 31/01/2007 21:08

forgot to say - I will try to post a photo when he gets his glasses in about 2 weeks

OP posts:
IamPotty · 31/01/2007 21:18

DS toddler has had his glasses for a year or more with no problem. Tho like others with a strong prescription he probably realises he is just better off with them on. And maybe having the unbreakable flexi frame has helped when he pulls them off to go to sleep etc.

Word of warning re the curly bits that go around the ears - I was told that they alter the shape of the ear so they are not at all recommended. Also that it doesn´t help young children to get used to wearing normal frames.

It´s funny, I anticipated major problems with the glasses and there were none at all. So take heart!

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