Children can by tricky, any parent knows that. Such is the case when it comes to a young child who needs to wear glasses. Children may not always feel comfortable having frames on their faces, so a bit of creativity can come in handy. Here are some ideas to help you convince your child to wear his or her glasses:
Use the Optician
When you have your child at the eye doctor, use the optician to help you find frames that are the right size for your child. Although children look adorable in over-sized frames, it really isn’t ideal for functional wear for them. Over-sized frames might feel heavy and slide off their faces easily. An optician can help you find just the right size that will feel the most comfortable and be the most functional for your child.
Let Your Child Choose
Research tells us that if you want your kids to buy into an idea, then let them have a say in it. Once an optician has helped you find a selection of the right size of frames for your child, let you child choose his or her favorite from among the group. They are much more likely to be excited about wearing their glasses if they got to choose the frame they liked.
Set Goals In Baby Steps
If your child has never worn glasses before, it might be unrealistic to expect that she or he will wear their new glasses all day long. Start small with goals for the amount of time she or he wears them and gradually increase. For example, you might ask your child to try to wear their glasses through one entire episode of his or her favorite show. Once that goal has been met, allow the child some time to wear them as she or he desires and then set another short length goal. Continue to repeat.
Praise and Reward
Children thrive off of attention. When you see your child wearing his or her glasses like you want, shower the child with attention – praise, high-fives, hugs, rewards could all be used as a way of providing attention to your child when he chooses to wear his glasses.
Find Heroes in Frames
Finding someone your child admires who also wears glasses can motivate your child to wear his glasses. Compile a list of people or characters your child looks up to that also wear glasses and take a minute to point it out to your child.
It Takes a Village
You’ve heard that old African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” That is in full effect here. Make sure that everyone who spends significant time with your child (teachers, grandparents, siblings, baby sitters etc) are aware of the goals you are setting for your child to wear her glasses. Reinforcements by everyone involved will provide the consistency to help quicken the process of wearing glasses on a regular basis.
As always, we are here to help! If you need more ideas on how to convince your child to wear his frames, give us a call or drop on in and we’ll provide some additional support. 435.359.2020