Time to wear glasses

When I was eight years old, I was having trouble reading the chalk board at school, but I didn’t want to tell anyone, because I didn’t want to wear glasses. Especially after seeing another kid in class being teased mercilessly and called ‘four-eyes’ because he wore glasses. Eventually my grades started to slip and my teacher and parents realized there was a problem, so off we went to the optometrist. I came home with a new pair of red glasses and even though I could see better, I did everything I could to accidently lose them, because I didn’t have to wear them.

When my daughter turned three, I took her to the optometrist with the sneaking suspicion that she would inherit poor eye sight from Mommy and Daddy – and I was right. After monitoring her eyesight at six month intervals for the next year, we knew it was time. Not only was she reading a book with her nose touching the pages, she was also starting JK, which would strain her eyes.

From my own childhood experiences wearing glasses, I wanted to make sure she transitioned to wearing glasses with confidence. We made a special outing to go to the mall to choose her first day of school outfit and her new glasses. Even though she had fun trying on a lot of different frames, we didn’t have much luck. Her face was quite small and none of the glasses fit her properly.  We eventually found a great selection at an independent optometrist and found two pairs that she liked.

I was expecting a fight to get her to wear them, but she took to them instantly. Maybe it was because she could see clearly or maybe it was because I wear them and she liked being like me. Maybe it was because everyone who saw her with her new glasses told her she looked so smart and pretty or maybe it was because she picked them out herself. Whatever the reason, she loved wearing them.

If I have one word of advice to any parent with a child wearing glasses – make sure you have two pairs. It’s pretty much a weekly occurrence to go get her glasses adjusted. She’s very careful with them, but kids are rough, especially her little brother who likes to grab them while they’re playing.