It was finally warm enough to play outside today, so I took Zoe to the park. As she was climbing around the playground, a boy about 5 or 6 called out to his dad, “hey dad, want to hear something silly? There’s a baby wearing glasses!” My heart sank. His dad asked him why that was silly, and I told him she needed the glasses to see, and he seemed to think that made sense. He later noticed that I wore glasses and asked if Zoe’s dad wore glasses, too.
I don’t remember being made fun of for wearing glasses, or getting any comments about them much at all, but I didn’t get them until I was 8 or 10 (I can’t quite remember exactly). Before today, Zoe had generally just gotten curious or nice comments about her glasses, this is the first time I’d heard a less kind comment. I know that the kid was just surprised and curious, not trying to be mean at all, but I’m a bit worried about Zoe hearing that her glasses are silly, especially from other kids. Anyone else dealt with other kids making comments about your child’s glasses? How do you respond? Or how have you taught your kid to respond?
You know, I do call her a “silly girl” from time to time, but not because of her glasses.
For Little Eyes 
Hi – you don’t know me, I am Alicia’s aunt. My baby (now 15) wore glasses from age 7 mo to 6 yr. I was horrified when I first was told, but eventually got used to the four-eyes look on her. Lots of your photos remind me of her. I also got lots of comments – mostly from children ‘MOMMY – look at the baby with glasses’. She was severely far sighted, and grew out of it, and could have had all sorts of problems if she had not got her glasses. So I am very grateful for the glasses. I was also always grateful for the warrenty :).
Janice.
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Playgrounds can be tough! It sounds like you (and the boy’s dad) handled this situation well. The nice thing is that you modeled for Zoe that she can stick up for herself by gently educating others (once she’s got the language for that!)
We go tomorrow to shop for the “real” pair of glasses and hopefully order some that will work.
I also learned that an aunt of mine has ambloypia. She warned of the seriousness of the problem in adulthood, although I’m not sure how early she got glasses. I’m hoping that starting this early with Eliza will help prevent future problems.
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Way to handle the situation well, Ann! I think it gets easier with age…there are 2 other kids in Franklin’s pre-school class with glasses, so the more kids with them the easier time they’ll have. Although I will say that the first time Franklin saw a boy his age with glasses, he asked me if the child was old like me. HA! I also seriously thank Harry Potter. Thank you JK Rowling for making an awesome main character wear glasses! YAY!
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Thanks all, and hi to Janice! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. It’s good to remember that the glasses are a very positive thing for our kids.
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I also have a hard time knowing what to say. There are times when I overhear other adults and kids talk about my daughter (13 months with glasses) as if I were not there. Not bad comments, but coments like “Oh look, baby with glasses” or “I wonder if those are real.” My daughter also has strabismus, and I think that is what kids will tease her about the most, more than about glasses unfortunately.
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I am sooo glad that I found this blog! My son, Hunter, has been wearing glasses now for two months. He is 14 months old now, and I still have a hard time dealing with the fact that my son needs them. He has a strabismus that we are trying to correct without surgery.
The first day that we went out with his glasses on, I could not believe the stares! Some people can be so rude. One adult male actually said, “What could a baby possibly need glasses for? Thanks just ridiculous!” I could not believe his words. I proceeded to explain why, but he just laughed. I was so angry! My son is so adorable with his glasses on I can hardly imagine him without them now. After that day, I am so thankful that its just glasses. Hunter could really have something wrong with him. We are truly blessed that this is correctable. And I will always teach him not to stare at others because they are different. After two months, I am getting used to the stares and points. I have worn glasses for many years-now I have a twin!
Thanks for letting me post my comments.
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Lindy, that’s horrible! I can’t believe someone would say that. I would have been livid. If our kids can’t see, their vision doesn’t develop correctly. Welcome to our blog, I hope you’ll visit often.
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