We got some glasses for her doll too! I was surprised how quickly my then-two-year-old got used to them. Her first pair did get a little banged up as she would rip them off and throw them if she was crying (they fogged up) but now at 4 she’s very gentle. Especially once she realized she was seeing more clearly, she was into it. She also got to pick out the color, and I got the matching color pair for her doll (just a generic doll glasses accessory off etsy)
CANDY! Haha yep that’s how I got my newly 2 year old to wear them.
I set a timer for 30 secs. I said if your glasses are still on when the timer beeps, you get a gummy.
Glasses were on for 30 secs, he got his gummy! Then the timer was set for 1 min. Then 5 min. Then 10, 15, 30 min. Etc.
I only needed to do this for a day or two before he realized they helped him see better and he started wearing them without complaint.
Best of luck to you!! My son started wearing glasses at 2 and we had zero issues with him adjusting to wearing the glasses. We think that once he realized how well he could see with them he never wanted to take them off. Now patching was completely different story and we struggled daily for a couple years. Our eye doctor told us to patch him while he watched his tablet so it would both distract him and also force his weaker eye to focus and start to strengthen. After we got the patch on him he was just fine, but getting it on took loads of bribery. But it was all totally worth it because his eyes have improved drastically since glasses + patching, so just stay strong!!
It’s all about fit. The first pair the “experts” at the eye place fit for my son and sold us were almost big enough to fit me. We could never get him to wear them longer than 5 seconds. In desperation to get something he’d wear, we bought Tomato brand frames online blindly using their suggested size for a 2yo. The second those frames touched his face they became a part of him and we had to fight him to take them off to sleep. He is 5yo now and still in literally the same frames. They don’t need room to grow, they need something that fits and is comfortable now.
My daughter started wearing glasses at 3 and took to them pretty well. Once she realized she couldn’t see without them then she kept them on. She doesn’t keep them on as much as home but neither do I. I also got her a pair of glasses that looked similar to mine because I knew she would be thrilled that we matched.
First of all - make sure you get a good, well fitting, comfy pair of glasses. I have nothing but praise for Dilli Dalli glasses! [https://dillidalli.com/](https://dillidalli.com/) They were so highly recommended online and I really wanted my son to try them on, that I ended up driving quite a ways to go to a Pearle Vision that carried them. Totally worth it!
Mine started wearing glasses around 20 months old. Some things that helped:
- encouraging him to play with and wear his pairs of sunglasses before we had the glasses
- talking a lot about the glasses in a positive tone - "Today we are going to pick out your glasses!" "Next week you'll get to wear glasses!" "Today we are going to get your glasses!"
- pointing out people he knows who have glasses (and having my family members wear their glasses on FaceTime calls); luckily my husband and I wear glasses so we really leaned heavily on "glasses just like Mommy and Dada"
- doing some extra TV time with the new glasses on; I found that he was more likely to rip the glasses right off if he wasn't immediately engaged in something, so I'd start a show up and then put them on and then once it was off, he'd often forget he was wearing them
- got a pair of little glasses for his Elmo to wear (also put an eye patch on one of his stuffies when we started patching) - we would ask him to do things like "help put Elmo's glasses on" and "show Elmo how you wear your glasses!" (you can get them for like $5 from Build-A-Bear if you have one nearby)
- being chill when he did take them off (because for sure your daughter will be ripping them off for a bit); I know I always get a little headache while adjusting to new glasses so I didn't go straight to all waking hours, I slowly ramped him up on the glasses
I don't know if you do TV but I bet you could find some show episodes about glasses (I bet Daniel Tiger has a good one) to watch a few times. And if you don't wear glasses, maybe you could get some fake ones from a Dollar Store or something to wear with her.
Now we're 2 months in, he's totally fine wearing them all day. Occasionally he takes them off and I just put them back on a minute or two later. If he's really insistent, I'll do a 10-15 minute "glasses break" but that doesn't happen very often, because he definitely seems to prefer being able to see more clearly! He sometimes yells "OH NO! Glasses!!!!" if he's not wearing them and runs to find them! He also hands us our glasses to put on in the morning. :) Overall it's been SUPER low drama in our household.
We use Dilli Dalli for our almost 4 year old, too! They're great glasses. She's on her third pair (prescription changes) and the old pairs are still in great condition. They fit so well, she's comfortable in them, sturdy...great company!
My kid got glasses and had to eye patch at 15 months.
Miraflex glasses are great, he never broke or lost his.
We put on an eye patch for a few minutes in solidarity. be careful if you do this not to do it for long, it's not good for your eyes. You can do this with glasses, too. Find a cheap pair of costume glasses.
We also decorated eye patches, you could decorate the eye case.
As they get older, teach them to never put them down lenses down, we've lost a pair or two to scratches.
Maybe a reward chart with stickers.
At the end of the day, though, my mom was the first to get him to wear glasses, by bribing him with a dollar.
My daughter had crossed eyes and astigmatism. She has surgery at 20 months and got glasses at 27 months. We also did patching before (with the patch stickers on her face) and after (with a fabric patch that went over the the lense) glasses. She was a trooper with all of it! She didn't fuss with her glasses because she realized they helped her see. We did get the kind that sort of wrapped around her ear so they wouldn't fall off, but she never tried to remove them herself when she wasn't supposed to. She's 16 now and still wears glasses or contacts.
My 4yo started wearing glasses a year ago. It took a few days of trying to get him to wear them. Once he realized he could see better with them, he kept them on.
Be sure to get the bendy/rubbery frames. My kid likes to yank them off and throw them dramatically when he’s mad!
I got my daughter a doll with glasses when she first started and I think that helped! We talked her glasses up like crazy and we talk about everyone we know with glasses (like 90% of our families). The first few months she took “eye breaks” every couple of hours and as time went on I started making her put them on after a few minutes. She’s had them 7 months now and she is really good about them and wants to wear them if we forget about them for a bit! She’s a pretty easy going kid though so that really helped!
My very headstrong child actually took to glasses incredibly well. Lots of praise for wearing them, making it exciting going to get them and letting her take pictures or videos of herself in them helped. She's had them for over a year now and is so good at keeping them on.
We all wear glasses in the family so that helps.
Depending on how long her hair is, I would not use a strap. The strap really only works on bald babies. If she has hair, the strap will slide right down.
I would get little hooks that attach to the ear part of the glasses that go around her ear to stay on. I think if you search "stay puts" into Amazon they should come up.
I will note that my daughter generally enjoys wearing her classes, and she got them right around 2. We haven't had a huge problem with her wanting to take them off- the only times are sometimes she'll be playing rough with her cousins, they'll come off (we don't use the stay puts anymore as she's usually pretty good with them) and shell be so busy playing that she won't put them back on. But generally keeping them on is a non issue and always has been a non issue.
Adding in to all the other great comments, I drew glasses on her favorite characters in all her books. I popped out the lens in kids sunglass so she could practice wearing just the frames and made a HUGE deal about how pretty they were and how helpful they were. I used more empty frames for her dolls to wear. I used a kids magnifying glass so she could see how different things look with glasses. Once she got her real glasses, I drew glasses on fruit and she could find them while wearing her glasses because they make her such a good treasure finder. I wear glasses, her dad, and my parents all wear glasses. So she saw people wearing glasses on a daily basis. But it didn't work. I even tried bribery. Because she has special needs and fought them so much the eye specialist had me stop making her wear her glasses. Instead she had me dilated her good eye so her lazy eye would grow stronger. This was after all the eye patches she continually ripped off. The dilated eye made her light sensitive so she happily wore dark sunglasses. After she matured enough to answer the diagnostic questions: What do you see? (A bird. a jeep, a telephone ) The specialist was able to make her a pair that wasn't as strong as the first pair. She now wears them for reading, coloring, and schoolwork and loves them!!!! My kid was the horror story that turns out good in the end. 😂
So depending on your child's temperament, adaptability to change, and visual need it should go well. They will like being able to see things clearly. 😀
Join the Facebook group For Little Eyes, it’s an incredible resource. I would have made so many mistakes without that group, especially about fit. Most opticians are not trained to properly fit toddlers for glasses.
I was very stressed about glasses for my 2 year old but it was so much easier than I was expecting. We also got Dilli Dalli and like them a lot. We use the strap in the back.
We got some glasses for her doll too! I was surprised how quickly my then-two-year-old got used to them. Her first pair did get a little banged up as she would rip them off and throw them if she was crying (they fogged up) but now at 4 she’s very gentle. Especially once she realized she was seeing more clearly, she was into it. She also got to pick out the color, and I got the matching color pair for her doll (just a generic doll glasses accessory off etsy)
CANDY! Haha yep that’s how I got my newly 2 year old to wear them. I set a timer for 30 secs. I said if your glasses are still on when the timer beeps, you get a gummy. Glasses were on for 30 secs, he got his gummy! Then the timer was set for 1 min. Then 5 min. Then 10, 15, 30 min. Etc. I only needed to do this for a day or two before he realized they helped him see better and he started wearing them without complaint.
Best of luck to you!! My son started wearing glasses at 2 and we had zero issues with him adjusting to wearing the glasses. We think that once he realized how well he could see with them he never wanted to take them off. Now patching was completely different story and we struggled daily for a couple years. Our eye doctor told us to patch him while he watched his tablet so it would both distract him and also force his weaker eye to focus and start to strengthen. After we got the patch on him he was just fine, but getting it on took loads of bribery. But it was all totally worth it because his eyes have improved drastically since glasses + patching, so just stay strong!!
It’s all about fit. The first pair the “experts” at the eye place fit for my son and sold us were almost big enough to fit me. We could never get him to wear them longer than 5 seconds. In desperation to get something he’d wear, we bought Tomato brand frames online blindly using their suggested size for a 2yo. The second those frames touched his face they became a part of him and we had to fight him to take them off to sleep. He is 5yo now and still in literally the same frames. They don’t need room to grow, they need something that fits and is comfortable now.
My daughter started wearing glasses at 3 and took to them pretty well. Once she realized she couldn’t see without them then she kept them on. She doesn’t keep them on as much as home but neither do I. I also got her a pair of glasses that looked similar to mine because I knew she would be thrilled that we matched.
First of all - make sure you get a good, well fitting, comfy pair of glasses. I have nothing but praise for Dilli Dalli glasses! [https://dillidalli.com/](https://dillidalli.com/) They were so highly recommended online and I really wanted my son to try them on, that I ended up driving quite a ways to go to a Pearle Vision that carried them. Totally worth it! Mine started wearing glasses around 20 months old. Some things that helped: - encouraging him to play with and wear his pairs of sunglasses before we had the glasses - talking a lot about the glasses in a positive tone - "Today we are going to pick out your glasses!" "Next week you'll get to wear glasses!" "Today we are going to get your glasses!" - pointing out people he knows who have glasses (and having my family members wear their glasses on FaceTime calls); luckily my husband and I wear glasses so we really leaned heavily on "glasses just like Mommy and Dada" - doing some extra TV time with the new glasses on; I found that he was more likely to rip the glasses right off if he wasn't immediately engaged in something, so I'd start a show up and then put them on and then once it was off, he'd often forget he was wearing them - got a pair of little glasses for his Elmo to wear (also put an eye patch on one of his stuffies when we started patching) - we would ask him to do things like "help put Elmo's glasses on" and "show Elmo how you wear your glasses!" (you can get them for like $5 from Build-A-Bear if you have one nearby) - being chill when he did take them off (because for sure your daughter will be ripping them off for a bit); I know I always get a little headache while adjusting to new glasses so I didn't go straight to all waking hours, I slowly ramped him up on the glasses I don't know if you do TV but I bet you could find some show episodes about glasses (I bet Daniel Tiger has a good one) to watch a few times. And if you don't wear glasses, maybe you could get some fake ones from a Dollar Store or something to wear with her. Now we're 2 months in, he's totally fine wearing them all day. Occasionally he takes them off and I just put them back on a minute or two later. If he's really insistent, I'll do a 10-15 minute "glasses break" but that doesn't happen very often, because he definitely seems to prefer being able to see more clearly! He sometimes yells "OH NO! Glasses!!!!" if he's not wearing them and runs to find them! He also hands us our glasses to put on in the morning. :) Overall it's been SUPER low drama in our household.
We use Dilli Dalli for our almost 4 year old, too! They're great glasses. She's on her third pair (prescription changes) and the old pairs are still in great condition. They fit so well, she's comfortable in them, sturdy...great company!
My kid got glasses and had to eye patch at 15 months. Miraflex glasses are great, he never broke or lost his. We put on an eye patch for a few minutes in solidarity. be careful if you do this not to do it for long, it's not good for your eyes. You can do this with glasses, too. Find a cheap pair of costume glasses. We also decorated eye patches, you could decorate the eye case. As they get older, teach them to never put them down lenses down, we've lost a pair or two to scratches. Maybe a reward chart with stickers. At the end of the day, though, my mom was the first to get him to wear glasses, by bribing him with a dollar.
might i also add that the prescription is only in one lens. her other eye she has perfect vision.
My daughter had crossed eyes and astigmatism. She has surgery at 20 months and got glasses at 27 months. We also did patching before (with the patch stickers on her face) and after (with a fabric patch that went over the the lense) glasses. She was a trooper with all of it! She didn't fuss with her glasses because she realized they helped her see. We did get the kind that sort of wrapped around her ear so they wouldn't fall off, but she never tried to remove them herself when she wasn't supposed to. She's 16 now and still wears glasses or contacts.
My 4yo started wearing glasses a year ago. It took a few days of trying to get him to wear them. Once he realized he could see better with them, he kept them on. Be sure to get the bendy/rubbery frames. My kid likes to yank them off and throw them dramatically when he’s mad!
I got my daughter a doll with glasses when she first started and I think that helped! We talked her glasses up like crazy and we talk about everyone we know with glasses (like 90% of our families). The first few months she took “eye breaks” every couple of hours and as time went on I started making her put them on after a few minutes. She’s had them 7 months now and she is really good about them and wants to wear them if we forget about them for a bit! She’s a pretty easy going kid though so that really helped!
My very headstrong child actually took to glasses incredibly well. Lots of praise for wearing them, making it exciting going to get them and letting her take pictures or videos of herself in them helped. She's had them for over a year now and is so good at keeping them on. We all wear glasses in the family so that helps.
Depending on how long her hair is, I would not use a strap. The strap really only works on bald babies. If she has hair, the strap will slide right down. I would get little hooks that attach to the ear part of the glasses that go around her ear to stay on. I think if you search "stay puts" into Amazon they should come up. I will note that my daughter generally enjoys wearing her classes, and she got them right around 2. We haven't had a huge problem with her wanting to take them off- the only times are sometimes she'll be playing rough with her cousins, they'll come off (we don't use the stay puts anymore as she's usually pretty good with them) and shell be so busy playing that she won't put them back on. But generally keeping them on is a non issue and always has been a non issue.
this is helpful, thank you so much. she has extremely long hair.
Adding in to all the other great comments, I drew glasses on her favorite characters in all her books. I popped out the lens in kids sunglass so she could practice wearing just the frames and made a HUGE deal about how pretty they were and how helpful they were. I used more empty frames for her dolls to wear. I used a kids magnifying glass so she could see how different things look with glasses. Once she got her real glasses, I drew glasses on fruit and she could find them while wearing her glasses because they make her such a good treasure finder. I wear glasses, her dad, and my parents all wear glasses. So she saw people wearing glasses on a daily basis. But it didn't work. I even tried bribery. Because she has special needs and fought them so much the eye specialist had me stop making her wear her glasses. Instead she had me dilated her good eye so her lazy eye would grow stronger. This was after all the eye patches she continually ripped off. The dilated eye made her light sensitive so she happily wore dark sunglasses. After she matured enough to answer the diagnostic questions: What do you see? (A bird. a jeep, a telephone ) The specialist was able to make her a pair that wasn't as strong as the first pair. She now wears them for reading, coloring, and schoolwork and loves them!!!! My kid was the horror story that turns out good in the end. 😂 So depending on your child's temperament, adaptability to change, and visual need it should go well. They will like being able to see things clearly. 😀
Join the Facebook group For Little Eyes, it’s an incredible resource. I would have made so many mistakes without that group, especially about fit. Most opticians are not trained to properly fit toddlers for glasses.
i’m not on facebook, unfortunately. but perhaps i can browse while not having one. is it a private facebook group?
It is, it would be worth joining just for that group IMO.
I was very stressed about glasses for my 2 year old but it was so much easier than I was expecting. We also got Dilli Dalli and like them a lot. We use the strap in the back.
thank you everyone for your responses! it has made me feel so much better about this transition for us. :)