How Do I Get My Child To Wear Glasses?
Helping children adjust to something new always takes some time and effort, and glasses are no exception. Depending on your child’s age, there are a lot of reasons why they might resist the idea–it’s an unusual feeling, they’re unsettled by the change in their vision, they find the glasses get in the way, or they don’t like the way the glasses look.
Once your child gets used to wearing their new glasses, the positive impacts will be well worth the effort. Better vision will help your child learn and progress, especially when it comes to school.
Essilor’s Transitions® for Kids has some helpful tips on how to make wearing glasses as positive as possible for children.
1. Choose the right glasses
Adjusting to wearing glasses is easier if the pair fits well, and suits your child’s needs as much as possible. Some key factors here can be getting the bridge right, and choosing scratch-resistant lenses. Your optometrist will help you work through what it is that you need. Essilor’s Transitions® for Kids range offers versatile, durable glasses that adapt to changes in light, and are easy for children to wear all day. Learn more about the range here. Involving your child in the choices as much as possible can also help. It can sometimes be easy to underestimate the importance of appearances with something like this, but giving something as simple as a choice in colour can make a big difference to how a child feels about wearing their glasses.2. Ease them into it
Wearing glasses will eventually become part of your child’s daily routine. One way to help this process along is to introduce the glasses into a regular activity that your child enjoys, like story time, a favourite cartoon, or anything else they enjoy.
During these moments, help them to notice the changes in their vision, and they’ll learn to like wearing their glasses, without being overwhelmed by the expectation that they wear them all the time. Once they’re more comfortable, putting glasses on becomes part of the morning routine.
3. Be consistent, and recognise when they get it right
Once you’ve set up a routine for when your child should wear their glasses, make sure it happens every time. The more consistent this is, the sooner those glasses will become a natural part of the day, and your child starts getting the benefits of better vision.
This one can slip through the cracks of busy household life, but as your child starts to put their glasses on without a reminder, it pays to reward their progress. The more positivity they experience about wearing their glasses, the happier they will be to keep them on. If they come to the kitchen for breakfast having put their glasses on by themselves, a ‘well done’ gesture may go a long way to ensuring that this happens every morning.
About Essilor’s Transitions® for Kids range
Transitions® Lenses are designed to be worn all day long, outdoors and indoors. The lenses quickly adapt to changes in light, protecting your child’s eyes from strain and UV light without them having to remember to change pairs. You can get them in virtually every frame, style, size and prescription.
The adaptive lenses block 100% of UV light, as well as 85% of blue–violet light from the sun, when activated outside. In addition to UV protection, the new Transitions® for Kids range also safeguards against eye injuries, with lenses that are made from polycarbonate and will block any object flying at 155m/sec or less.
Ask us about Essilor’s Transitions® for Kids.