Toddler Glasses...

I have been trying my best to get my son to wear glasses for about 3
months now (he is currently 15 months). He was born with infantile
esotopia (crossed eyes) and has had one sugery when he was 7 months old
to correct it. It made a huge difference, but there is still some
crossing. The doctor wants me to have Mason in glasses for 4 weeks
before he will perform a second surgery. I completely trust my
pediatric opthamologist, he is the best here, however, his suggestions
for getting Mason to wear his glasses seem somewhat cruel, so I'm
reaching out.

I have tried three different pairs of glasses so far. The current pair
only weigh 2.6 grams and fit Mason great, so I feel good about them,
but getting him to keep them on is a different story.

The doctor's first recommendation was to buy these arm splints called
Pedi-Wraps that velcro around his arm. The thought turned my stomach,
but obeying the doctor, I went ahead and bought them. I'll admit, they
get him to keep the glasses on and he doesn't fuss with them on, but he
can't really do anything. He's teething and can't have a chew toy.
When he eats, I have to feed him (which he should be learning to do
himself). He's trying to walk (and took his first steps last night),
but they impede him. Basically, I just don't have it in me to make him
wear them. Every time I've tried, I've given in within a couple hours
because I feel so bad for him, again, even though he's not fussing.
Also, since I was taking them off so he could eat, he began associating
my taking his pedi wraps off with taking his glasses off because the
minute the wraps came off, he'd take the glasses off and I wouldn't try
putting them back on. There was one day that he fell asleep in his car
seat, so I took the wraps off and he immediately took his glasses off!!
I couldn't believe it!

The docs second, and most recent recommendation is atropine drops to
dialate his eyes. I feel horrible about this! He says this will make
his vision blurry without his glasses on but clear when he wears them.
I put one drop in each eye last night with no problem and his eyes are
dialated today, but he still won't wear the glasses. Also, he whinces
as if in pain when we go outside because of the sunlight, so I'm not
putting the drops in again tonight.

There has got to be a better way. Because of his age, the positive
reinforcement thing just won't work. He's 15 monhts old and doesn't
have that reasoning ability yet. Also, the glasses don't help him see
any better. Their purpose is simply to pull his eyes straight.

Please, if you have any advice, share it with me as I'm running out of
time. The sooner we get this fixed the better the odds that Mason will
obtain depth perception. From what I understand, if we do the second
surgery without seeing if the glasses work first, you risk a third
surgery to reverse the second (assuming the glasses would have fixed
the problem).

Thank you for your time and insight.

"taylormom" wrote:

I have been trying my best to get my son to wear glasses for about 3
months now (he is currently 15 months). He was born with infantile
esotopia (crossed eyes) and has had one sugery when he was 7 months old
to correct it. It made a huge difference, but there is still some
crossing. The doctor wants me to have Mason in glasses for 4 weeks
before he will perform a second surgery. I completely trust my
pediatric opthamologist, he is the best here, however, his suggestions
for getting Mason to wear his glasses seem somewhat cruel, so I'm
reaching out.

I have tried three different pairs of glasses so far. The current pair
only weigh 2.6 grams and fit Mason great, so I feel good about them,
but getting him to keep them on is a different story.

The doctor's first recommendation was to buy these arm splints called
Pedi-Wraps that velcro around his arm. The thought turned my stomach,
but obeying the doctor, I went ahead and bought them. I'll admit, they
get him to keep the glasses on and he doesn't fuss with them on, but he
can't really do anything. He's teething and can't have a chew toy.
When he eats, I have to feed him (which he should be learning to do
himself). He's trying to walk (and took his first steps last night),
but they impede him. Basically, I just don't have it in me to make him
wear them. Every time I've tried, I've given in within a couple hours
because I feel so bad for him, again, even though he's not fussing.
Also, since I was taking them off so he could eat, he began associating
my taking his pedi wraps off with taking his glasses off because the
minute the wraps came off, he'd take the glasses off and I wouldn't try
putting them back on. There was one day that he fell asleep in his car
seat, so I took the wraps off and he immediately took his glasses off!!
I couldn't believe it!

I think you are projecting what your feelings would be if you were he
to the detriment of his health. IMHO, the wraps will not hurt his
teething, feeding himself etc as much as not wearing the glasses will
hurt his vision, and his vision is more important and has a shorter
time frame to be fixed.

So if you can't duct tape the glasses to his head so that he can't
remove them, then you have to put the splints back on and keep them
there. (I don't like the idea of dilating his eyes either and I think
it is a less effective solution)

FWIW I had one of my kids in a Dennis Brown splint while she was
asleep, and she banged it around and scarred up the crib quite a bit,
but the only other effect it had was to keep her from climbing out of
the crib quite as quickly. (She wore shoes which were fixed on a
rigid bar between them.)
The docs second, and most recent recommendation is atropine drops to
dialate his eyes. I feel horrible about this! He says this will make
his vision blurry without his glasses on but clear when he wears them.
I put one drop in each eye last night with no problem and his eyes are
dialated today, but he still won't wear the glasses. Also, he whinces
as if in pain when we go outside because of the sunlight, so I'm not
putting the drops in again tonight.

There has got to be a better way. Because of his age, the positive
reinforcement thing just won't work. He's 15 monhts old and doesn't
have that reasoning ability yet. Also, the glasses don't help him see
any better. Their purpose is simply to pull his eyes straight.

Please, if you have any advice, share it with me as I'm running out of
time. The sooner we get this fixed the better the odds that Mason will
obtain depth perception. From what I understand, if we do the second
surgery without seeing if the glasses work first, you risk a third
surgery to reverse the second (assuming the glasses would have fixed
the problem).

Thank you for your time and insight.

taylormom wrote:
I have been trying my best to get my son to wear glasses for about 3
months now (he is currently 15 months). He was born with infantile
esotopia (crossed eyes) and has had one sugery when he was 7 months old
to correct it. It made a huge difference, but there is still some
crossing. The doctor wants me to have Mason in glasses for 4 weeks
before he will perform a second surgery. I completely trust my
pediatric opthamologist, he is the best here, however, his suggestions
for getting Mason to wear his glasses seem somewhat cruel, so I'm
reaching out.

I have tried three different pairs of glasses so far. The current pair
only weigh 2.6 grams and fit Mason great, so I feel good about them,
but getting him to keep them on is a different story.

The doctor's first recommendation was to buy these arm splints called
Pedi-Wraps that velcro around his arm. The thought turned my stomach,
but obeying the doctor, I went ahead and bought them. I'll admit, they
get him to keep the glasses on and he doesn't fuss with them on, but he
can't really do anything. He's teething and can't have a chew toy.
When he eats, I have to feed him (which he should be learning to do
himself). He's trying to walk (and took his first steps last night),
but they impede him. Basically, I just don't have it in me to make him
wear them. Every time I've tried, I've given in within a couple hours
because I feel so bad for him, again, even though he's not fussing.
Also, since I was taking them off so he could eat, he began associating
my taking his pedi wraps off with taking his glasses off because the
minute the wraps came off, he'd take the glasses off and I wouldn't try
putting them back on. There was one day that he fell asleep in his car
seat, so I took the wraps off and he immediately took his glasses off!!
I couldn't believe it!

The docs second, and most recent recommendation is atropine drops to
dialate his eyes. I feel horrible about this! He says this will make
his vision blurry without his glasses on but clear when he wears them.
I put one drop in each eye last night with no problem and his eyes are
dialated today, but he still won't wear the glasses. Also, he whinces
as if in pain when we go outside because of the sunlight, so I'm not
putting the drops in again tonight.

There has got to be a better way. Because of his age, the positive
reinforcement thing just won't work. He's 15 monhts old and doesn't
have that reasoning ability yet. Also, the glasses don't help him see
any better. Their purpose is simply to pull his eyes straight.

Please, if you have any advice, share it with me as I'm running out of
time. The sooner we get this fixed the better the odds that Mason will
obtain depth perception. From what I understand, if we do the second
surgery without seeing if the glasses work first, you risk a third
surgery to reverse the second (assuming the glasses would have fixed
the problem).

Thank you for your time and insight.

My YS wore glasses like yours. He was a bit reluctant, so we all wore
glasses in the family. No problem.

OR

You can try duct tape.

taylormom wrote:
I have been trying my best to get my son to wear glasses for about 3
months now (he is currently 15 months). He was born with infantile
esotopia (crossed eyes) and has had one sugery when he was 7 months old
to correct it. It made a huge difference, but there is still some
crossing. The doctor wants me to have Mason in glasses for 4 weeks
before he will perform a second surgery. I completely trust my
pediatric opthamologist, he is the best here, however, his suggestions
for getting Mason to wear his glasses seem somewhat cruel, so I'm
reaching out.

I have tried three different pairs of glasses so far. The current pair
only weigh 2.6 grams and fit Mason great, so I feel good about them,
but getting him to keep them on is a different story.

The doctor's first recommendation was to buy these arm splints called
Pedi-Wraps that velcro around his arm. The thought turned my stomach,
but obeying the doctor, I went ahead and bought them. I'll admit, they
get him to keep the glasses on and he doesn't fuss with them on, but he
can't really do anything. He's teething and can't have a chew toy.
When he eats, I have to feed him (which he should be learning to do
himself). He's trying to walk (and took his first steps last night),
but they impede him. Basically, I just don't have it in me to make him
wear them. Every time I've tried, I've given in within a couple hours
because I feel so bad for him, again, even though he's not fussing.
Also, since I was taking them off so he could eat, he began associating
my taking his pedi wraps off with taking his glasses off because the
minute the wraps came off, he'd take the glasses off and I wouldn't try
putting them back on. There was one day that he fell asleep in his car
seat, so I took the wraps off and he immediately took his glasses off!!
I couldn't believe it!

The docs second, and most recent recommendation is atropine drops to
dialate his eyes. I feel horrible about this! He says this will make
his vision blurry without his glasses on but clear when he wears them.
I put one drop in each eye last night with no problem and his eyes are
dialated today, but he still won't wear the glasses. Also, he whinces
as if in pain when we go outside because of the sunlight, so I'm not
putting the drops in again tonight.

There has got to be a better way. Because of his age, the positive
reinforcement thing just won't work. He's 15 monhts old and doesn't
have that reasoning ability yet. Also, the glasses don't help him see
any better. Their purpose is simply to pull his eyes straight.

Please, if you have any advice, share it with me as I'm running out of
time. The sooner we get this fixed the better the odds that Mason will
obtain depth perception. From what I understand, if we do the second
surgery without seeing if the glasses work first, you risk a third
surgery to reverse the second (assuming the glasses would have fixed
the problem).

Thank you for your time and insight.


Is it possible to one of the swim straps? I think that is what you call
them. They are a strap the fits on the ends of the earpieces and go
around the back of the head. I don't know if they make them small
enough though. If you can get them small enough they might create
enough resistance to keep him from pulling them off.

Have a look at Safe N Sound which is a tether strap that goes around
the back of the head.

You really have to get over your squeemies about this, since the kid
MUST wear those glasses or risk permanent vision impairment. Its short
term pain for long term gain, what parenting is all about.

M.
(mom of three, constantly making kids do things they really don't want
to do)

"taylormom" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have been trying my best to get my son to wear glasses for about 3
months now (he is currently 15 months).

I guess they don't make contact lenses for that?

"taylormom" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have been trying my best to get my son to wear glasses for about 3
months now (he is currently 15 months). He was born with infantile
esotopia (crossed eyes) and has had one sugery when he was 7 months old
to correct it. It made a huge difference, but there is still some
crossing. The doctor wants me to have Mason in glasses for 4 weeks
before he will perform a second surgery. I completely trust my
pediatric opthamologist, he is the best here, however, his suggestions
for getting Mason to wear his glasses seem somewhat cruel, so I'm
reaching out.

I have tried three different pairs of glasses so far. The current pair
only weigh 2.6 grams and fit Mason great, so I feel good about them,
but getting him to keep them on is a different story.

The doctor's first recommendation was to buy these arm splints called
Pedi-Wraps that velcro around his arm. The thought turned my stomach,
but obeying the doctor, I went ahead and bought them. I'll admit, they
get him to keep the glasses on and he doesn't fuss with them on, but he
can't really do anything.

It's only four weeks. Put the Pedi-Wraps on him, deal with it for the four
weeks. He can learn to do everything you mentioned when they come off.

"taylormom" wrote in message
oups.com...
The doctor's first recommendation was to buy these arm splints called
Pedi-Wraps that velcro around his arm. The thought turned my stomach,
but obeying the doctor, I went ahead and bought them. I'll admit, they
get him to keep the glasses on and he doesn't fuss with them on, but he
can't really do anything. He's teething and can't have a chew toy.
When he eats, I have to feed him (which he should be learning to do
himself). He's trying to walk (and took his first steps last night),
but they impede him. Basically, I just don't have it in me to make him
wear them. Every time I've tried, I've given in within a couple hours
because I feel so bad for him, again, even though he's not fussing.
Also, since I was taking them off so he could eat, he began associating
my taking his pedi wraps off with taking his glasses off because the
minute the wraps came off, he'd take the glasses off and I wouldn't try
putting them back on. There was one day that he fell asleep in his car
seat, so I took the wraps off and he immediately took his glasses off!!
I couldn't believe it!

Since his vision is at stake and the pedi-wraps will only be on a short
time, I agree with the other posters and say just do it. You are going to
feel horrible about yourself when he is 20 and can't see because you
couldn't make him wear his glasses for a mere 4 weeks as a toddler. This is
your job. He doesn't have good judgement. That is why you are there.
Don't even worry about taking them off for food. You feed him. If he is
delayed in feeding himself for 4 weeks, he'll catch up, but he'll never
regain his vision.

"taylormom" wrote in message
oups.com...
Also, since I was taking them off so he could eat, he began associating
my taking his pedi wraps off with taking his glasses off because the
minute the wraps came off, he'd take the glasses off and I wouldn't try
putting them back on.

I think thats the answer. If you put them back on immediatly he takes the
glasses off he will eventually learn. The you won't have to put them on in
the first place.

DUCT Tape rules.

no, seriously. he might not like having them strapped to his head but
I damned sure he'll thank you in years to come when he is not partially
sighted. I am blind in one eye and do not have the choice to walk
around looking like an idiot for a month to get it sorted.

Ask yourself the question, a few weeks of discomfort or a lifetime of
disability ?

It aint rocket science honey, no matter how much he doth protest

The English Dad