Google+

Thursday 23 February 2012

How To Make a Toddler Wear Glasses

Yesterday we picked up Freddy's new glasses!  The trendy Mr Bump blue frames are very smart and stylish, a million miles away from the old NHS specs from my childhood.  They  make Freddy look very cute.

The right lens is just clear glass and I was shocked that the left lens was quite so strong and magnified.  My poor little man has soldiered on with really poor vision in that eye.  It is remarkable how well children can adapt to something that an adult would struggle with and moan about!

At first Fred was not interested in putting them on.  He liked it when his toys put them on, when we put them on and even when the apple he had for his mid-morning snack put them on.  But he was not impressed having to look through them himself.  Ella, Kizzy, Nana and Grandad all put on their glasses to show Freddy how cool they looked, but he was still reluctant to wear them.  I'm sure they must make his poor eye feel strained as it tries to start working again.  It must seem very odd to a 2 year old who doesn't fully understand what it's all about.
Not Quite Right
As ever, my lovely virtual friends on Facebook offered me solutions, ideas and advice and just discussing the problem really helped.  Thank you all for your much appreciated support :)

I've discovered that doing an activity with him that requires close-up vision is the best way to get him to comply.  I tell him that if he looks through the 'magic windows' he'll see things better.  I get him to look at things and describe colours and shapes to focus his eyes.  We did a whole hour playing with Duplo in his glasses this morning which is a real positive step.  Lots of praise and encouragement is the key...along with lots of distraction.  He is getting less opposed to them and the odd bribe reward seems to work well too.  I'm not going to make a huge deal out of it as I don't want him to become spectacle-phobic!  So I'm being relaxed and giving him breaks and not pressuring him.  Afterall it's early days!

My New Glasses
His next appointment is for six weeks time.  I really hope it shows that his left eye has had its vision kick-started.  We've caught it early and time is on our side.  Eyesight is such a valuable thing and I''l do all I can to get Freddy's problem resolved....even resorting to Jelly Tot rewards for keeping his specs on!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...