We have a wealth of experience in examining children and fitting them with glasses. We have a fabulous selection of frames where comfort, style, fitting and child satisfaction are all equally important.
Why does my child needs glasses?
Congratulations. This is a positive development. Your child was having visual issues (which may or may not have been known to you) and now we are going to solve these issues. Because a childs visual system is growing and developing, especiallly during the first 7 years of their life, glasses may play an important role in ensuring NORMAL DEVELOPMENT OF VISION
Will wearing the glasses make my child’s eyes worse?
Absolutely NOT. In fact the opposite may be true. If a child does not wear the prescribed glasses, normal vision development can be adversely effected.
Your Child may have Hyperopia/Long Sightedness. This is the most common condition we see in young children, in simple terms its having difficulty looking at things closer than further away. If the amount of hyperopia is small (eg. <+ 1.00D) no treatment is needed as the child is usually well able to use their own focusing muscles to provide clear vision for both distance and near. When an excessive amount of Hyperopia is present, the focusing muscles may not be able to keep the vision clear. As a result problems such as crossing of eyes, blurred vision and/or discomfort may develop. A prescription for Hyperopia will be preceded by a plus sign (for example +3.00DS) Full time wear of glasses is usually recommended.
Your child may have Myopia/Short Sightedness. This is a condition where the distance vision is blurred eg. TV, Board in school. This often occurs in older children but is becoming more prevalent in younger children because of excessive screen use. The prescription for glasses will indicate a minus sign (for example -3.00DS) we usually recommend the child wears their glasses the majority of the day so they won’t ever be stuck without them. Each individual case is different so be sure to ascertain when your child should be wearing them. Be sure to ask how we can slow down the progession of myopia i.e. myopia control
Astigmatism is another condition your child may have. It can occur alone of in combination with Myopia or Hyperopia. It Is caused by a diffenence in the surface curvature of the eye. Explained simiply its when the front of the eye is shaped more like a rugby ball than a soccer ball. If your child has significant astigmatism, fine detail may look blurred or distorted. A prescription for astigmatism will have several numbers and will look something like this -3.00/-2.00x90. We normally recommend the child wears the glasses full time when they have significant astigmamatism.
This occurs when there is a significant differenct in the eyes. If this is not detected early it can lead t a LAZY (amblyopic) EYE. A lazy eye must be caught early, preferably at the ages of 3-5 years of age. After the age of 7yrs, not much can be done to improve he vision in the weaker eye. Glasses are prescribed full time and often a patch is worn over the better eye to make the weaker eye work.