Two of our grandchildren wear eye glasses. One is seven, and has worn glasses since he was four. The other is three, and I wrote a post about his wanting to sleep in his glasses. This Grandma was worried about compliance issues, but need not have done so because of two reasons.
First, both children, despite their young ages, know they can see significantly better with their glasses on. Second, they have a smart mother.
When the older child was in preschool and had just started wearing glasses, I attended a holiday event at the school. The mother of our grandchildren and I searched among the mass of preschoolers to see how many were wearing glasses. There were a few. We noticed immediately that all the preschoolers, other than our grandson, were wearing frameless glasses you could barely see. Just as we were discussing this, a mother sitting in front of us turned and asked our daughter if our grandson was her son. She said her son was in his class and came home and told her he could not see and needed to go to the eye doctor to get bright blue goggle glasses. When she inquired further of her son, she found out he was not the only child in the class that coveted our grandson’s bright blue goggle glasses. Apparently, by allowing a then four year old to select his own frames, the entire class wanted glasses just like his. Again, what a smart mother. We both sighed a sigh of relief. He was not being teased. There were no compliance issues.
It seems that the olden days of children being teased is gone more than in just our grandson’s preschool. In the Miami Herald, August 12, 2014, Crystal Chew wrote an article about children and eyeglasses, “Give your kid an `A’ in Eye Care,” and tells us:
Not too long ago, kids who wore glasses were made fun of with names like “Poindexter” or “four-eyes.” But thanks to celebrities like Johnny Depp, Tina Fey and LeBron James, glasses have become hip and even considered a fashion statement.
“Some kids actually make up not seeing well to get glasses when they are actually seeing perfect,” said Dr. James Hagen, an optometrist in Kendall. “The old stigma is not true anymore.”
This may come as a form of relief for parents with kids who don’t see well and need glasses to do well in school, as their numbers are increasing.
Amazingly, the numbers of children who need glasses is higher than we might think, and technology may have a part in this need:
According to the American Optometric Association, nearly 25 percent of school-age children have vision problems and are not receiving adequate professional eye and vision care. Only about one-third of all children have an eye examination or vision screening prior to entering school.
“The reason that this generation sees so poorly is that they are the first generation born into technology where their whole life they’ve had computers, iPads and iPhones,” Hagen said. “The more people work without resting their eyes, the higher chance they may develop myopia.”
Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is a vision condition in which close objects are seen clearly, but objects farther away appear blurred.
For Hagen, who owns a family practice, his clientele has changed drastically. At one time, his No. 1 age group came from people in their 40s. Now, the top group is kids from 10 to 19 years old, followed by children younger than 9.
“This generation of kids see the worst of any generation before them at this age,” he said.
Ms. Chew tells us that “Standard school-provided screenings are not enough to ensure students can read that smartboard or tablet, South Florida experts say.”
For public school students in Florida, vision is checked through eye screenings that are mandated for children in kindergarten, first, third and sixth grades. It is also required for new students entering Florida public schools for the first time in grades kindergarten through five.
But some local optometrists believe that may not be adequate.Dr. Richard Myers, an optometrist in West Miami-Dade, said the screenings pick up big issues “but I think there are much more subtle problems, where many children fall in the cracks.”
The screenings given by the Department of Health, which are done at the schools, are not full indications of eye health, he said. “It’s really a fallacy, you can’t just go by 20/20,” he said.
As grandparents we were surprised that eye doctors want very early intervention. The pediatric opthalmologist was impressed that the children’s pediatrician had very sophisticated diagnostic eye testing equipment in his office. You should ask the parents of your grandchildren to see if their pediatricians have the newest testing equipment or suggest they take the grandchildren for an eye examination with a pediatric opthalmologist.
Here is what Ms. Chew said;
Experts recommend having children’s eyes examined earlier than kindergarten and every year or, at minimum, every two years. The earlier the detection and treatment, the less the potential impact eye problems may have on a child’s development.
“Generally if a person has one or both parents who wear glasses and they are under 45, the child is likely to inherit those propensities to need glasses as well,” said Dr. Allan Levitt, an optometrist in Miami Beach.
Our grandchildren sat close to the television but it was the preschool teacher of the older child who recommended testing. Parents and grandparents should pay attention as we now have information to note vision problems, and behavioral issues and school problems may be affected:
Parents and teachers can spot indications of issues. The more obvious ones are cosmetic where a child’s eyes are not straight or the child may be squinting, holding reading material too close or sitting too close to the television.
“Some students are resilient and they can overcome their difficulties,” said Dr. Vanessa Marino, an optometrist in Kendall. “Unfortunately other children’s vision is so bad it’s hard for them to pay attention.” Marino believes that often children get labeled as having attention problems because of this.
“I get referrals from psychologists, who before labeling or doing any tests on them, they have them get their eyes checked,” she said. “You’d be amazed how many people don’t fit the diagnosis once they have their glasses on.”
There are other indications that parents never attribute to eye health, like getting tired during the day, frequently complaining about headaches and performing poorly in school.
Many optometrists believe that a lack of success in school is often tied to issues with vision.
“There’s a very strong correlation between vision problems and juvenile delinquency in the middle to later grades,” Levitt said. “If it goes uncorrected for a long time, the child might get frustrated.”
The mother of our grandchildren got each grandchild four pairs of glasses with accompanying repair and replacement contracts at a store in the local mall open seven days a week. You would NOT be surprised to know, in one weekend when we were visiting, the three year old broke three pairs! They get scratched really easily too. Replacement for two of the pairs beyond repair took two weeks. One pair was repaired at the store on a Sunday.
The grandchildren have a Disney frames, bright orange, red, and blue frames, round and square frames, goggle frames, and sunglasses. They choose. And we already know where they will be donated when they outgrow them. The Lions Clubs nationally have a program, called, the Lions Recycle for Sight program, “Changing Lives, One Pair at a Time.” Take a look at Lions club.org.
Throughout the year, Lions, Leos and other volunteers collect used eyeglasses and deliver them to regional Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centers (LERCs). LERC volunteers clean, sort by prescription strength and package the glasses. Most of the recycled glasses are distributed to people in need in developing countries where they will have the greatest impact.
Eyeglass Recycling – How You Can Help
If you have used eyeglasses you no longer need, you can donate them now. Lions accept prescription and reading glasses, sunglasses and plastic and metal frames. Children’s glasses are especially needed.
For the holidays, one of the grandchildren’s presents is to give to a needy child. Grandpa and I know where some of the holiday giving is going this year.
Please tell the parents of your grandchildren to get good eye testing for your grandchildren. 25% is an extraordinarily high number of children to be needing eye glasses. And, if you or they have glasses you no longer wear, remember those in need.
Joy,
Mema
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