meet ups?

There was a post on the Little Four Eyes facebook group asking if anyone in the north Los Angeles area would be interested in having a get together.  She’s asked that people message her privately on facebook if they’re interested.

I would be happy to try to help facilitate communication for other get togethers if people are interested.  You’re welcome to comment here to see if there’s anyone in the area, or to propose a local park or other place to try to meet.  Or I can pass along email addresses so people can plan things that way, too.  I’ve really enjoyed meeting Amomofelly – and of course, Elly, herself – in person.

Babies are hard on glasses

We have not had as many eyeglass issues as we have in the last 6 months. I think it is a combination between these new frames and having a baby brother. Babies are sure hard on glasses. Check out these…

Broken hinge – the right cable temple only stays on with tape
Rusting nose piece
Popping out lenses…

I sure have a greater appreciation for those of you with babies in glasses. Elly didn’t get hers until 2 and we haven’t had many issues until now!

Fashion forward little four eyes

AmblyopiaKids had a fun post last month about some fabulous shirts she’d found that feature glasses.  It seems like glasses are becoming more and more trendy – at least when they’re featured on characters on t-shirts.

Stella, in her shirt featuring a skull with a heart eye patch. From lifeandtimesofstella.com

Then yesterday, Amber wrote a great post on her blog about her daughter, the little fashion visionary, Stella, and the shirts they’ve found celebrating her eyewear – both glasses and patches.  She also noted that JCrew has a pair of glasses frames for girls listed for sale on their site.  It’s unclear from the site whether or not the frames are meant to be fit with prescription lenses, or used as purely cosmetic accessories.   I have to say, if they aren’t meant for prescription lenses, I would have a hard time justifying spending the money on the frames.  After going through so many struggles just getting Zoe to wear her glasses in the beginning, it just seems crazy to me to pay money to go through that and not get the benefit of better vision.  On the other hand, it certainly says something about how glasses are viewed if they’re offered as purely fashion accessories now.

Anyone else find any interesting glasses-related kids fashions?

injuries from glasses

Jack’s injuries from his fall on his glasses.

Carolyn sent in a story about her son, Jack, who is 2 1/2 and wears Miraflex glasses for farsightedness.  He had been playing with his little sister, when he fell off his bed in just the right way that his lens popped out and pushed under his eyebrow.  The resulting cut from the lens required 6 stitches to close up.  As Carolyn wrote, they’re very thankful for the Miraflex glasses, as other frames could have broken and made the injury even worse.

Ann Felicia also wrote about her son getting a cut on his face from his glasses a couple of years ago.

This is definitely something to keep in mind when you’re looking for glasses for your child.  Think about how the frames and the lenses will handle falls or accidents.  The lens material is extremely important, and for this reason, polycarbonate is generally recommended for children since it is very hard and shatter proof.

picture of young boy in prescription sports goggles
Bennett in his prescription sports goggles from http://www.zleader.com/jamn.htm

Another thing to consider is sports goggles, especially if your child is participating in sports that are rough or could cause injuries to their eyes.  Accidents will happen, and we can’t always prepare for everything, but given how much we’re trying to take care of their vision, it makes sense to also be sure we’re protecting them from injuries.

Patch Stash

As a self-proclaimed expert patching parent, I have decided to assess the patches in our stash and share with you the ones that we are no longer using. The first 2 up for grabs are for patching either eye.  The lime green has sparkles and is made of felt (fit great when she was 2 and 3), the stripped on is made of a softer non scratchy fabric (it is a little too big and not girly enough for a 4 year old girl with oval glasses).  The next 2 are for  the left eye and are both made of felt (my daughter didn’t like them as much and said they are scratchy)  The pink one is for a smaller child (maybe 1 or 2) and the purple would be more for a 3 /4 girl.  All 4 are very similar in size, my pictures don’t really show you that well.   I also have multiple Ortopad sticky patches for girls (under 3 years old).   All these patches described are already in individual envelopes waiting for a name and an adress to be sent to.  Please only ask for 1!  (ajre nchin@yahoo.com (without the space)) I will update the post as the patches are spoken for.  Sorry only US residents and there is no guarantee that the postal system will safely deliver them to you =)

Web interview with Susan Barry- “School Crossings: A Neurobiologist’s View of How Our System Fails Children With Vision Problems”

Dr. Nate (of Bright Eyes News) and reader Amber both just let me know that COVD (that’s the College of Optometrists in Vision Development) is sponsoring a 30 minute web interview with neurobiologist Dr. Susan Barry entitled “School Crossings: A Neurobiologist’s View of How Our System Fails Children With Vision Problems.”    The free web interview is targeted at parents and educators and will be Thursday, August 26, at 9 pm EDT.  The interview will be recorded, but I don’t yet know whether or how it will be made available for people who are unable to attend the actual interview.  As soon as I know more, I’ll update.

From the facebook event:

Hear Dr. Susan Barry answer questions about difficult school experiences that resulted from her vision problems; how, for example, she was mislabeled as a low aptitude student and assigned to a special problems class, and what her mother did to help her child succeed. And more….. including what you can do to help your child succeed!”

Dr. Barry is the author of the book, “Fixing My Gaze” which talks about her experience growing up with strabismus, and never achieving stereoscopic vision until she started vision therapy as an adult.  The book is fascinating and her background as a neurobiologist is clear, as she explains the vision system in a very engaging and understandable matter (you can read my full review of her book).  I’m certain that the web interview will be very interesting as well.

More details: “seating is limited to the first 1,000 people to respond.  To register for this free event, go to:  www.joinawebinar.com and enter the webinar ID number, which is 547-423-251, your email address, etc.  Just follow the instructions from there.”  Again, as soon as I know more about the availability of a recorded session, I’ll let people know.

Long overdue update to the photo gallery – 7 photos added

I’m terribly sorry for falling so far behind on the photo gallery updates.  I’ve just added 7 new photos (of 8 beautiful children in glasses) to the page.  If you have sent me a picture of your child and I missed it, please re-send it (ann@shinypebble.com), and I will add it.   Check out the new pictures!

reader request: aniridia

A reader, Sue, just learned that her son has aniridia and nystagmus.  Aniridia is a lack of iris, which is associated with low vision and other vision issues.  She would love to connect with any other parents of children with aniridia, or anyone who has dealt with this.  Please leave a comment, or email me (ann@shinypebble.com) and I will put you in touch with Sue.

book review: Fancy Nancy Spectacular Spectacles

I read a review of the new book, Fancy Nancy Spectacular Spectacles by Jane O’Connor on Amblyopia Kids a few weeks ago.  Based on that review, and Zoe’s love of her Fancy Nancy shoes, I figured I should get a copy for her.  We got the book on Friday, and we’ve read it at least once every day since then.

For those that haven’t seen any other Fancy Nancy books (there’s quite a few of them now), the Fancy Nancy character is a young girl who loves all things fancy, and that includes accessories, clothing, and even words.

In the story of Spectacular Spectacles, Nancy’s friend Bree gets glasses because “in school, her eyes hurt a lot.”  Unlike a lot of kids’ books about glasses that focus on the difficulties that go along with getting glasses, this book focuses on how much Fancy Nancy loves her friend’s glasses, and how much she’d like to have some, too.  They are after all, lavender, glittery, and come with a silver case and a silk hankie to clean them.  It was quite nice to read a book where the character who wears the glasses doesn’t encounter any taunting or teasing, and the glasses are portrayed as something wonderful.  I also loved that there is a scene where the character Bree explains to her class about her trip to the eye doctor and getting glasses.  I think that our kids in glasses need to be able to talk about what those glasses mean, and Bree’s explanation is quite charming:

Bree had to read a chart with lots of letters on it.  The letters went from big to tiny.  “Glasses are like magic.  I can read tiny stuff now,” she says.  “Nothing looks blurry!”

When I first read Spectacular Spectacles (before reading it with Zoe – the book arrived while she was napping), I worried that Zoe would not relate much to the book.  The main character isn’t the one getting glasses, and I don’t think Zoe even remembers getting glasses.  But Zoe enjoyed it from the first time we read it, and has asked for it every night since then.  Even more exciting for me, is that the last few nights, she’s stopped me in the middle of the book to talk more about her glasses.  Before this, Zoe had never spoken much about her glasses or trips to the eye doctor, but now she’s starting talking about her most recent eye doctor trip, how the shapes on the chart were blurry, and that the “glasses place thought she needed new lenses for her glasses and now things aren’t blurry.”  It feels like this book helped give her the words to explain what she had experienced.

Fancy Nancy Spectacular Spectacles is an I Can Read book, listed as a beginning level reader.  Zoe is not yet reading, so I can’t comment on how easy it is for early readers to read, but it does have short, simple sentences.  The book does feature several long “fancy” words, which are listed at the back of the book.  I liked how those words, such as “spectacular” and “becoming” are used and explained in the story as well.

The illustrations are beautiful, and I found myself getting a bit jealous of Bree’s beautiful glasses.  I would absolutely recommend this book, especially for young girls who might be worried about their friends’ reactions to getting glasses.

Beading

If you are looking for a way to strengthen hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, take time this weekend to do some beading with your child!  I started beading with LARGE wooden beads when Elly was 2 and she has slowly worked her way up to pony bead size.  It takes a lot of concentration and she can only work for short periods of time (5-6 min) before needing a break – but she is now able to make a bracelet on her own – YEAH!!!!  Noodles on pipe cleaners or shoe laces are an inexpensive alternative if you don’t have beads at home!

spelling ophthalmologist

It took me a very long time before I could spell ophthalmologist right on the first try.  I guess one of the perks of a kid in glasses is that I can now type it quickly with no problem.  So I had to laugh when I this tweet from FakeAPStylebook (absolutely worth following if you enjoy funny tweets, it probably goes without saying that it has nothing to do with children’s eye issues):

The Dizzying Menu of Choices and Add-ons When Purchasing Glasses

Many thanks to our newest contributor, Nikki, for writing this – Ann Z

I just spent $1115.00 on lenses and frames for three members of our family and expect to buy our three-year-old’s first pair next month. We are not new to choosing from the long list of options when customizing glasses, though we had our own trials with differentiating which features and add-ons were important, cosmetic or just plain unnecessary.

First, ask questions. Go ahead and say that you need help deciding which options are important, the reasons for each and any cost or benefit.  Most opticians, optometrists, ophthalmologists, and even office staff want you to be genuinely happy with a very useful pair of glasses.  We often do this without our children present because it can take 30 minutes or so to make all your selections (even after deciding on frames) depending on how many pairs you’re buying.

Basics

We’ve learned poly-carbonate lenses are the way to go. These are also sometimes called Hi-index or safety glasses, and they are thinner than regular plastic. These are sometimes more expensive for adults, though usually no extra charge for people under 18 for the obvious safety reasons. They’re lighter weight, too, and they have built-in UV protection. Glass does resist scratching better, though. So, if you choose plastic, you’re gonna need coating.

Coatings

Scratch coating and anti-reflective/anti-glare are also worth it. Often, if you pay the charge for scratch-coating, your lenses can be replaced *for free* for up to one year. So, if you see even one scratch, take them in! Anti-glare is important for two reasons: 1) you seeing out and 2) others seeing in. First, anti-glare helps the glasses-wearer by reducing the ‘halo effect’ around lights. Second, with the coating, others see clearly through to your child’s (or your) beautiful eyes. This is especially nice in photos! Have you seen your reflection in someone else’s lenses? Anti-glare coating solves that, too.

Polarized and UV protection are most often associated with tinted glasses, aka sunglasses. We have chosen Transitions. (Photochromic is the generic term. There are many brands of this. Usually your office will offer just one. They all do the job!)  We love Transitions for several reasons. One is hyper-sensitive to light and these make a huge difference. It is also extremely difficult for a young child to be responsible for two pairs of glasses, and this eliminates the need. Their backup glasses are not Transitions, since they mostly sit in a drawer and are only to be used as a temporary replacement.

Extras

Some frames have wire arms or spring-hinges to build in some shock-absorbency. In my opinion, if you’re that active, get the sport glasses. We even have swim goggles that are prescription. (You gotta see the wall, right?) You can find these on-line at swim stores – as long as you know your prescription – and they are surprisingly inexpensive.

Service

Often, frames are under warranty for a year and almost every place will adjust and ‘tweak’ at no cost and as often as you need. Kids’ glasses can get bent just from running to you for a hug, so we are dropping by as often as once a week for adjustments.

Bottom Line

Our children are our top priority. Their vision and eye care top the list of health concerns. Few things are worn as often as glasses – think of the cost averaged over a year. Often, with all these options, my child’s glasses cost $300 or less. I have no stake in the eyewear industry, just in my kids.

Sources:

1. www.essilorjunior.com

2. The Seven Deadly Sins of Recommending Kids’ Lenses by Sharon Leonard, LDO, ABOC-AC, FCLSA

3. Victor Rosario, office manager
Coan Eye Care
Orlando, FL

Free Eye Patch Tutorial

For all you parents who lovingly patch your little ones.  Make these, give them away, but just don’t sell them!  These are inexpensive, light weight, covering, re-usable, and have a smooth texture.  They can be personalized to fit your child’s personality and the shape of their glasses. The idea came to me late one night from trying all the patches on the market and they have worked well for Elly and hopefully may work for you.  It was designed for those of you in Miraflex in mind – hopefully it will work!  It can and should be adapted to best fit your child’s needs and glasses.  I can make each patch in less than 3 minutes and could make at least 50 of them for less than $5.00.  If you can tie a knot and push a needle back and forth, you can make these!

Materials

craft foam, needle, thread, scissors, knife, tape, and the pattern

The following tutorial will demonstrate how to make a right left eye patch.

1. First cut out your foam pieces, add any extra fun pieces that you may want.  Remember, the more you add, the heavier your patch will be.  Linked here (Patch Pattern) is a pdf pattern of the main patch pieces.

2.  Assemble the pieces and hold them together with your fingers to make sure you are making your patch go the right way.  Sew your embellishments on to the rectangular section first.

3. Then, using a simple knot and a straight stitch, attach the rectangular piece to the main patch on the bottom.

4.  Fold the V in until the edges are touching and stitch through all 3 layers; top, front, and over the glasses pieces. (see, your stitches don’t have to be pretty!)

5.  Then place a square piece of tape on the triangular side.  This is to make the opening where the temples go through just a little sturdier.

6.  Using a knife or other sharp object, make a hole large enough for the temples to fit through.

And you are done =)    Well, with the patch part… here is how they go on the glasses.  I told Elliana that it was my job to put them on and off for the safety of the glasses.  These patches will fit snugly and I put them on slowly.  I made 2 patches and they each lasted me over a month when put on by a parent.

First slide the temples in between the main patch and the rectangular piece.  If you have cables, making sure the ends get in the smaller hole is a little tricky.  Those with Miraflex, I think you can take the band off.  If not, e-mail me and I will think of something.

Then pull through until the patch sits comfortably on the glasses.  I trimmed with my scissors around the nose piece so the patch sits inside of the plastic and a bit from the top so it rests comfortably on their forehead (thats why it is easier to make the pattern bigger and cut to fit).  If you have the regular nosepiece, then you could make a vertical slit for the nosepiece to fit into

.

Last and not least, have your child try their glasses with the patch on.  Make sure it is not rubbing or irritating, trim with a scizzors to make it a perfect patch for your child.

Almost forgot… we learned the hard way… DON”T use red or dark pink like my pictures.  When they sweat the color comes off and turns the skin pink.  I would use light pink, blue, white, yellow and other light colors.  If you do make a patch, please send me a picture to post.  I have a couple more that we have been using daily – pictures of them to come later!

when will I learn?

Zoe’s had glasses for over 2 1/2 years.  By now, I should know that I can’t get shirts with anything but the loosest neck over Zoe’s head without taking her glasses off first.  But I still forget on a regular basis (and yes, I forget to take my own off when I’m getting dressed – slow learner here).  Normally, Zoe reminds me, but today we had a particularly awkward encounter trying to get her swimsuit on with her glasses still on her face.  I’m pretty sure it looked pretty hilarious.  I expect I’ll remember to reliably take her glasses off right about the time she is able to get all of her shirts on and off herself.

do young kids get teased because of glasses?

It’s a common concern (and one that I hold) for parents of young kids in glasses:  Will my child be teased because of their glasses?  It doesn’t help that the plot of many of the books and movies about kids in glasses revolve around the child being teased and then figuring out how to deal with it.  But I wonder, how much of a reality is the teasing?  As far as I’m aware, no one has ever teased Zoe about her glasses.  Once at the playground, I overheard one older boy telling his father, “want to hear something silly?  There’s a baby in glasses!”  But while he was talking about Zoe, he wasn’t taunting her or even talking directly to her, and luckily, she was young enough that I don’t think she caught it at all.

I do know that eyewear is a lot nicer looking than it was when most of us were kids, and that more and more kids are wearing glasses, though usually at an older age than our kids.  Does this mean that the teasing for glasses will be less?  There was that study in 2008 that found that kids do not think glasses make other children less attractive or less athletic, though they do think other kids in glasses are smarter and more honest.  Does that translate into less teasing?

I’d love to hear from parents of older children about whether their kids have been teased about glasses, or whether they’ve observed kids making fun of others about their glasses.