Author Archives: Ann Z

research on nearsightedness and children

There’s been a lot of news about myopia (nearsightedness) recently, much of which I thought might be of interest to some of you. In December, the results of a large survey were released in the Archives of Ophthalmology.  The findings were that the number of nearsighted people in the United States (age 12 – 52)Continue reading “research on nearsightedness and children”

“Why he doesn’t wear glasses?”

Zoe’s 3 and well into the “why” stage of life.  “Why it’s called ‘breakfast’?”  “Why it is snowing?”  “Why I can’t wear a dress and a skirt at the same time?” And recently, “why he (or she) doesn’t wear glasses?” (Her word order for asking questions isn’t quite right, but I find it kind ofContinue reading ““Why he doesn’t wear glasses?””

on the question of straps

I felt like I kept running in to mentions of glasses straps the past couple of days.  First, Camille from Framehuggers (one of the highly rated patches that Amomofelly reviewed) tweeted that she had finished developing a head strap for infants and children and needs moms to test it out for free.  Update: Camille hasContinue reading “on the question of straps”

delurk for sight 2010!

It is once again International Delurking Week in the blog world – that’s the week when bloggers try to encourage their readers to comment and let us know you’re reading.  As with last year, I’m providing some incentives during the week to encourage you to comment. For the next 7 days, that’s the very endContinue reading “delurk for sight 2010!”

Good news at the eye doctor

Zoe had her regular eye appointment this morning.  I had been looking forward to it for a while because I was anxious to know whether she has developed any binocular vision.  Zoe was looking forward to it because she knows the eye doctor doesn’t give shots.  She had been asking about the shots in particularContinue reading “Good news at the eye doctor”

pictures of kids in glasses with a strong prescription

Thank you to everyone who commented on my earlier post about strong prescriptions and sent in pictures of their kids with strong prescription glasses.  I thought I’d make this a new post to show some of the pictures to give people a sense of the distortion that happens with high prescription lenses (hint, it’s reallyContinue reading “pictures of kids in glasses with a strong prescription”

open thread: introductions and updates

We’ve gotten quite a few comments recently from parents new to the world of young kids and glasses.  Welcome!  I’m so happy you found us, and I really hope you’ll post any questions you have, and stick around and let us know how things are going for you. I thought it would be nice toContinue reading “open thread: introductions and updates”

how magnified will my child’s eyes be in glasses?

One question I see a lot is how different will a child’s eyes look when they’re wearing glasses, especially if they have particularly high prescriptions.  It is true that glasses will change the appearance of eyes: nearsighted lenses will make the eyes appear smaller, and farsighted lenses will make the eyes appear larger.  The higherContinue reading “how magnified will my child’s eyes be in glasses?”

four eyes are better than one?

I loved the Mr. Men and Little Miss books as a kid, so I was excited when Dr. Holser at Advanced Eye Care in Grand Rapids posted a video of the three characters from that series that wear glasses (Little Miss Whoops, Mr. Persnickety, and Mr. Nervous) doing a glasses are cool rap. But afterContinue reading “four eyes are better than one?”

when are children prescribed glasses

I recently got a question about when a doctor might not prescribe glasses for a child, even if the child was nearsighted or farsighted.  I did some research and found consensus guidelines for prescribing glasses published by the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Pediatric Eye Evaluations: Screening and Comprehensive Ophthalmic Evaluation, 2007, link to full text).Continue reading “when are children prescribed glasses”