Experience with 22 month old needing glasses?

[huggymummy]

I'm devastated. He's short sighted and will need them forever and the only reason they did'nt give me the prescription today is that he had a bit of a meltdown. He'll need them in 6 months time as he also has an astigmatism which needs help quite quickly.

Feel soooo bad.

Anyone with any experience with toddler glasses. How did your little ones take to them. Any negative self esteem issues and how to other children react?

Is it too late to give him carrot juice in the hope it will help vision?????????????

don't be devastated, it's no big deal these days, there are some lovely glasses around, specsavers have beano ones for boys.

dd has worn glasses since she was 18 months old. she has poor sight, a squint and astigmatism (prescription is +5 and +6), the first few months, she was breaking them all the time, but we were given 2 pairs so while one was being mended, she wore the others. she's 6 now, and having to do some patching too (pic of her on my profile with her patch i made for her on). her classmates are jealous, and think her glasses are really cool, she looks odd now when she hasn't got them on.

the eyes are adaptable at this young age, the sooner he starts wearing glasses the better, leave it too long without, and it can do more damage than good

my dd also had glasses from 18 months (now 4). She was no bother with them at all and she also had to do some patching. She was a star with them too. I used to buy stickers and she would decorate them before we put them on in the morning. It was a shock for us too as none of dh's or my brothers/sisters have glasses and we dont have them either. Other kids havent been a problem either other than to sometimes ask why she has them. We just tell them it is to help her see properly and they seem to accept it.

Oh we are just at this point ourselves. I had a lazy eye and its looking like ds2 also 22m has inherited it for me. We are just waiting for referall letter. I got really upset as I was that kid at school with glasses and patch... but I'm only little and ds2 is a big handsome lad so hopefully won't get teased. Because I started wearing them at 3 I didn't remember a time without them so maybe it was easier than (like a friend of mine) being a vain 20-something being told you need glasses?
He enjoys wearing my sunglasses so hopefully will be ok once he gets used to glasses. The younger the better - I started wearing them at 3 but they've been watching both my boys eyes as eye problems can be hereditary.
Don't be upset about it, I think children in glasses look incredibly cute and these days there is Harry Potter who has a lot to do with glasses becoming cool.
The glasses I had in 1970 are affectionately referred to as my 'Dame Edna' specs in family photos! Oh and then my big 80's massive coloured plastic frames....

By the way, my mum told me today not to be upset - she remembers sitting there at the clinic crying cos her little girl was being fitted with glasses. A distraught mother came in with her little boy who had lost an eye in an accident at home and my mother realised that glasses wasn't that much of a big deal. Hope that helps.

Huggymummy - my DS has been wearing glasses since he was 6 mo - is now the same age as your DS. The selection for this age group is OK (much better than for tiny babies). He knows he looks great in his specs as everyone tells him all the time (especially me!). It might not be forever for your DS if he's short-sighted + astigmatism as he may be able to wear contacts or have laser surgery when he's older.

DS is just about able to put his glasses on by himself now. No probs getting him to wear them as he can see so much better with than without.

More jealousy than negative vibes from other children at this age. We have had lots of problems with other children 'borrowing' them at playgroups and one incident in a shop where naother child took them from him and I was busy searching for where he might have lost them before the penny dropped as to where they really were - and it was too late to get them back as the other child had gone.

I agree, don't put off getting them or let him know how you feel about him wearing glasses or he could harm his sight by not wearing them at this age. I'd also agree about getting a second pair.

To the mums with children already in glasses- are they on the nhs for children and if so are they decent ones? The reason I joke about my Dame Edna ones is that the selection was really limited when I was little but my parents had no choice.
The second pair is a good idea.
Sorry to hijack thread a bit but I'm just thinking ahead a couple of weeks.

dd loves hers as she has very severe eyesight issues. Long sighted, astigmatism, squint and nystagmus/no depth perception/ unstable vision... Her glasses give her sight. One or two comments not that nice since starting school, but she just says only smart kids have glasses and that was that.

Oh Cheers - feel so much better about it. I'll do a bit of investigating re the styles out there (for my vanity!) and what will be good for a very active and clumsy toddler. I'll also talk to mums at the playgroup - loads of the kids who go there are in glasses.

Both dh and I wore glasses from early so I'm quite relieved we're in the system and he's been diagnosed. In fact when I got my glasses all the girls in my class wanted them too.

And it's so true - he's not ill, his sight just needs a bit of help.

Hope it goes well for you fliberty and piffle - you're little on is a really smart cookie.

Thanks again.

huggymummy, I'm an optometrist and have actually noticed a trend in the last few years for children to pretend they can't see properly to get glasses, that's how trendy they are now! ( Don't worry, we can always tell!} If your LO is shortsigtehd he'll immediately see an improvement in his vision and will probably want to wear them. Fisher Price do a lovely range for babies and they fit well too.

lots of glasses pics of my dd3 in her glasses, she has been wearing them since she was 18months old.

Flibbertyjibbet yes, there are nice frames on the 'elf for children over about 18 months - much younger and it's a bit more limited, but not so bad as it used to be at all. Have a look at babieswithglasses.org/ American, but fun.

Hi there, my ds has had specs since 14 mths for short sight. When we got them, the advice was to just try and get him to wear them but not to make him/force him and not to make any issue about it. We had a hit and miss weekend, then when I took him to nursery on the monday, I gave the specs to the staff and just asked them to have a go but there was to be no fuss etc, and when I picked him up he'd been wearing them all day and we've never had a problem since. Think if they're really short sighted, they suddenly realise that they can see witht he glasses, and it makes a huge difference. Can get some really great glasses for kids now on NHS but would recommend getting the curly ends to help hook round the ears initially, especially at 22 months. My ds is 4 now and has just got his first pair of glasses without the curly ends. Think you need to pay a bit on top of the voucher for them, but worth it.

Ds has a squint and has been wearing glasses since 18 mths. He is now 4. We have been patching.
I hated him wearing glasses at first and took very few photos - . He wore milky bar kid type glasses, which had curly bits going round the ears, ( they were fab for keeping on a toddler - highly recommend)they are so sweet.
Last week , he went to the opticians, I told him he could choose his next pair. He said, "I'd like pair like Clark Kent please"
They are lovely.
Don't worry you soon get over the shock and they have some great styles. Ds has always been really cool about wearing glasses. He thinks the patching makes him special and got a bit upset when we had to stop it - ha ha ha.
It will be fine.