When our daughter was a toddler, she was fitted with prescription eyeglasses to correct her crossed eyes. Like many parents who opt for fashion instead of common sense, I let my daughter choose a dainty pair of eyeglasses that were brightly colored and decorated with sequins. The frames lasted about a week before she managed to break them.
What I didn’t realize at the time is that very young children don’t really understand the whole point of eyeglasses, and will often treat their new glasses as just another toy to be tossed around. They’ll may throw the eyeglasses against the wall, drop them from the high chair, sit on them, step on them, flush them down the toilet and even try to force them on the dog.
Keeping this in mind, it’s best to choose a pair of eyeglasses that can hold up to all this abuse.
Choose frames that are kid tough and backed with a warranty
Young children don’t understand dorkiness when they are only two or three, and choosing a set of eyeglasses with thick plastic frames is a very practical solution for first time eyeglass wearers. As tempting as those cute wire framed glasses are, it’s best to bypass them in favor of ones made of heavy plastic with flexible earpieces. Equally important is finding a set that is backed with a full replacement warranty.
Once you’ve narrowed the field to a handful of eyeglass frames that meet your standards for durability, let your child choose the frame that she likes the best. Even a two year old has a strong opinion on what she’ll wear and what she won’t.
Opt for glass instead of plastic
These days, eyeglasses can be made of a light weight plastic which hardly weigh a thing. Unfortunately, the downside of plastic lenses is that they scratch very easily, especially when a toddler scrapes them up against the furniture or sits on them. After my daughter scratched her first two set of lenses in less than a month of wear, we switched to glass lenses instead which were pretreated with a scratch resistant coating. The glass lenses cost more and certainly were heavier, but lasted until it was time to change the prescription.
When it comes time to outfitting your child with prescription eyeglasses, do ask your doctor if glass lenses are a viable option.
Order the self adjusting eyeglasses in areas of intense sunlight
Since we live out in the desert, sunglasses are a must to reduce glare. For smaller children who wear prescription glasses, it is usually less expensive to upgrade the lenses to self tinting then buying a set of prescription sunglasses.
Buy an eyeglass lanyard
After losing a pair of eyeglasses at the zoo, I bought an eyeglass lanyard for my daughter. These lanyards are worn around the neck and hold the eyeglasses by the ear piece when taken off. This low cost eyeglass accessory is practical for those days when you and your toddler are at the mall, park, or any location away from the house. Fastening the glasses to an eyeglass lanyard takes away the worry of a toddler losing her glasses when no one is looking.
Choose a crush proof carrying case
Eyeglass carrying cases come in two types, the soft fabric kinds and ones made of crush proof plastic. For a young child, the crush proof eyeglass cases are the best since they can be tossed in a diaper bag or purse without fear of damage.
As expensive as prescription eyeglasses are, it really makes the most sense to buy sturdy eyeglasses while your toddler is going through that first year of adjustment. Once she’s mastered the art of wearing her glasses and taking proper care of them, only then does it make sense to purchase designer frames and plastic lenses.
