Back to School Checklist: Eye Exams

Whether or not you are excited for the fall, a trip to the eye doctor with your kids MUST be on your to-do list as we get ready to head back to school.

• Why an ophthalmologist visit? You want an Eye MD examining your child, as opposed to an optometrist. Ophthalmologists (MD’s) are trained to look for congenital cataracts, tumors and other pediatric eye issues, as well as ascertaining if your child needs glasses! An optometrist is not an MD, and may or may not be capable of detecting medical eye issues at the time of checking for glasses.

You don’t need a pediatric specialist, but call ahead to make sure the ophthalmologist regularly sees children. Word of mouth is important here to find a good eye MD who is comfortable examining children and dealing with difficult kids who don’t feel like being at the eye doctor!

Keep in mind that while schools do have vision screenings, they are not the most reliable. It’s easy for kids to fall through the cracks and fake seeing letters on the chart. Also, kids can fake not seeing the chart because they want glasses! You don’t want to be scrambling for an eye doctor appointment once fall is in full swing.

If your child already wears glasses, you should know that as they grow, their eyes grow, and their prescription will change! Depending on the child and what kind of prescription they have, some will get worse, and some will get better. Before school starts I recommend getting them checked.

• New trends in kids glasses? These aren’t the glasses you wore in third grade! There are so many choices in frames – and lots of new trends – for kids to choose from these days. New designers like Disney, Juicy for kids, and Nike have entered this playing field.

I’ve found that the key to successfully getting kids to wear glasses is to let them choose themselves!  The designs available now are full of variety – from themes like princesses and dinosaur imprints to many color variations — there’s something to make every kid happy!

The key to getting them to WEAR glasses is to let them choose –then they are more likely to be into wearing them…. I let my son choose his first pair of glasses and he was so proud to show them off and loves hearing about how “cool” they look everywhere he goes.

• Once your child likes wearing the glasses, how do you keep them from breaking them or losing them? 

First off, kids roughhouse and are very physical, so glasses today are actually made to help protect their eyes.

Polycarbonate is a shatterproof material used in all lenses of child frames. It’s actually used in making bulletproof glass, so it’s as tough and durable as you can get.

Most children frames are now available with bendable arms, made of high quality acetate plastic, that don’t break under almost any stress. My son’s pair (by Envy) has endured a bullmastiff stepping on them, as well as number times someone has sat on them by accident, and have never broken!

Sports goggles (these look like swim goggles) take protection a step further. They are a great way to give your child good vision but really protect the whole eye area while they’re playing any kind of sport.

You can also make them transition (meaning they get dark when they go into sunshine, just like adult glasses) since they wear them outside a lot, so as to protect from the sun at the same time!

We all know that glasses can get PRICEY, and I hate to spend hundreds of dollars on anything my child is responsible for!

My suggestion is don’t be afraid to shop online: Have your child try frames on in stores and then go order them online. You can save lots of money this way, even though we are in danger of losing the local eyeglass stores as the internet becomes a more reliable place to buy glasses. Some great sites with a good children’s selection include Framesdirect.com, Discountglasses.com, and marveloptics.com.

 

• How do you keep them from losing them? First off, I recommend having a serious conversation with them, stressing that you let them choose their frames but if they lose them there will be a consequence.

Then just come to the realization as a parent that they sure WILL lose them at least once. Then you won’t be so upset when they do.

The head-bands that attach to the glasses are a must! They aren’t just for older people with readers anymore. My son takes his glasses on and off all day but they always stay around his neck!

Always get a backup pair! Remember, they are kids after all and will lose them or break them despite all of our best efforts. You don’t want them going days without their vision correction. Buy a cheap backup pair…look for stores and websites that have buy one get one half off or even free–especially heading into back to school season.

As far as “extra options” go, transitions are great (because sun protection is important) but pricey. I would only make one pair transitions. Most companies and optical stores automatically include scratch-resistant coating, but others will charge extra. This is helpful considering how rough kids can be with their glasses, but not a must if you’re strapped for cash.

Hopefully this helps you plan your back to school to do list efficiently! Enjoy what’s left of summer!