How to help if your child needs glasses

So, your child needs glasses. These days, it almost seems inevitable that children will need glasses at some point in their lives. Perhaps it’s because of all the screen time they put in, but there definitely seems to be more kids (and grownups) with glasses than ever before. 

Still, your child might feel quite upset when they realise they have to wear glasses all the time. They’re small, so they don’t recognise the importance of protecting their vision. Instead, they see glasses as a weird thing that makes them different from others. Plus, they may hate how they feel on their face, so it can be hard to get them to keep them on especially if they are very young. 

With that in mind, here are a few ways you can help a child get used to their glasses:

Let them choose their own pair

If your child needs glasses try to make going to chose them a fun event.  Make it special and perhaps include a treat meal out or something afterwards too just to reinforce the positive. Don’t go online and pick any pair you can find – let them choose. After all, they’re the ones that will wear them every day, not you.

Often, you can find cheaper glasses on the internet, but you can still visit the opticians to see them in person and try them on. This is handy as it lets you realise what size glasses will fit your child’s face! By being a part of the buying process, your child is more likely to want to wear their glasses. It goes from feeling like something forced on them, to being a cool thing they get to choose.   Some of the online stores also offer a try at home option so you could consider doing that.

Shower them with compliments

Children get self-conscious, even if they never express this to you. When they undergo a drastic change – like wearing new glasses – it can make them feel different. So, you should make an effort to shower them with compliments and talk about how awesome their glasses are. Get their older siblings to say how jealous they are of the glasses, and really make it clear how cool they are. Your child will respond positively to this and start thinking that glasses aren’t that bad. 

Buy a replica pair for yourself

Sometimes, the best thing you can do is show solidarity. As such, it might help your child if you also wear glasses around them. Even if you don’t need them, you can get a pair without proper prescription lenses in them. So, your eyesight isn’t affected, but your child sees you with glasses on. It gives them someone to relate to, which helps them come to terms with their own glasses. Kids will always look up to their parents as well, which means they see you with glasses on and feel overjoyed that they also have some! 

TOP TIP

Get a back up pair!  Here’s hoping that they won’t break them and kids glasses are often durable, but they are kids and stuff happens.  I give this top tip as a grown up who broke her glasses the day of the first lockdown in 2020 when all opticians closed.  I had no back up and I couldn’t see!  Not much fun as a grown up so definitely would not be fun as a child.  It also takes the sting out of having broken glasses if you have a spare pair as then you don’t have to run out immediately and buy the replacement pair so you could even save up.

Be Patient

So don’t worry if your child needs glasses and they are not that thrilled about it!  It can take some time for a child to adjust to the idea of wearing glasses. Especially if they’re one of the only people in their class that needs them. Still, by trying the ideas listed above, you can make it much easier for your child to deal with this drastic change. You’ll help them feel more confident and ‘normal’ when wearing glasses.