More questions about glasses, please help!

[PentecostalMom]

So, my daughter has had her very expensive glasses (because I didn't know better, not because we are wealthy, lol) for about 24 hours and they are lost! :sad:

 

We think she left them across the street at the neighbor's when she was playing, but they left right after sending her back home and are not back yet.

 

First question, do your kids (or did they) lose them? How do you keep up with them? She is supposed to be wearing them all the time, but is still adjusting so sometimes takes them off. We remind her to put them back on, but of course my neighbor did not know that, and she was only there 15 minutes. What about those straps/cords? I honestly don't want to get one of those, but cannot replace glasses weekly either!

 

Next question(s) about Zenni Optical. It looks like a great place to get glasses, but what are all those numbers they ask for and how do I find them? If they need to be adjusted, do you do it yourself? I am totally new to all of this and need H.E.L.P.!! :eek:

 

Thanks! :)

[AK_Mom4]

DS14 started wearing glasses when he was about 3yo. The first pair, we did like you and bought the spendy ones at the dr. office. The ones that are supposed to be able to stand up to rugged wear for kids. They lasted 6 hours. :glare:

 

After that, we got smarter and bought the cheaper ones from Lenscrafters back when they had their unlimited replacement policy. As long as we could find most of the pieces, they replaced them for free.

 

We tried the elastic straps, but they rubbed DS's ears and he was unhappy. Walmart has them in kids sizes and you can try them out before you buy. Eventually he stopped destroying his glasses so often - just in time to age out of needing them. But for a while, we went thru a pair a month.

 

Sorry...never tried online, but the numbers are probably the measurments on the temples and distance between her eyes or stuff like that. Might be worth an email to them to ask, but someone here on the Hive will probably know.......

[Dobela]

My son did fantastic the first year he had glasses. Not lost once and only needed minor repairs. In the last 2 months he has lost 2 pairs now and once one pair had to be majorly fixed. :banghead: Our new rule is if you take your glasses off, you must give them to an adult you are with. I can't say that it works, but I will let you know later.

 

He does have a back-up pair tht we bought with the first loss. They are not what he considers to be cool but they were the cheapest frames in the shop with the minimum in lenses he needs.

[jewellsmommy]

My son did fantastic the first year he had glasses. Not lost once and only needed minor repairs. In the last 2 months he has lost 2 pairs now and once one pair had to be majorly fixed. :banghead: Our new rule is if you take your glasses off, you must give them to an adult you are with. I can't say that it works, but I will let you know later.

 

He does have a back-up pair tht we bought with the first loss. They are not what he considers to be cool but they were the cheapest frames in the shop with the minimum in lenses he needs.

 

 

Yes! This became our rule. Dd was 5 when she got hers. She would take them off if she was doing something active or with water. While staying at a friends house she removed them and put them in a 'fancy box' because she thought they would be safe. Unfortunately, our friend was having a yard sale at the time and the fancy box was for sale and indeed sold! Our friend did not notice that dd was still running around without her glasses on until we picked her up. That was a long day.

 

From that point on, we adopted this rule and it has worked for 3 yrs! The only time she falters is at home when they are removed for the night. I suggest you pick one spot in the house where the glasses come off until the next morning. Enforce these 2 things and you will be fine :D.

[Julie in AZ]

My ds didn't care for Zenni Optical (online). We bought his last pair of glasses from Walmart for under $50. They work great and look really nice!

[Margo out of lurking]

My dd was 6 when she found out she had to wear glasses, and it was one of the happiest days of her life (really). She's worn them almost ALL of the time, even in the shower, usually when she swims and when she plays soccer. She chose contacts last year but greatly prefers her glasses. I just bought her a new pair at Walmart (first time), and even with the more "expensive" frames, they were $120 and came with the non-glare, shatter-proof lenses. We've bought them at Sam's in the past, but I think these were even cheaper. I was thrilled. I was reluctant to go to Walmart, but our glasses tech had been a licensed optometrist for 20 years, and she was great. (Are all of their glasses fitters/salespeople optometrists? I can't imagine they are.)

 

Lenscrafters offers free frame adjustments. At least they always have, and I've seen signs posted stating so, although I can't guarantee that hasn't changed in the last year.

[Carrie12345]

My ds has worn glasses since he was 4, and has never misplaced a single pair. He has, however, allowed OTHER children (former classmates, younger family members) to touch/try on his glasses, which often led to misshapen frames. :glare:

 

My girls have to get their eyes checked, and I'm hoping they don't need glasses, because they're very much the type to lose them. I like the idea of "must be given to an adult". We'll have to try that if they wind up needing them.

[TN Mama]

My daughter got glasses in Kindergarten and indeed lost her first pair (Lenscrafters) on the bus. After checking the school and with the driver, we figured they were gone forever and went back to Lenscrafters for a second pair. A few weeks later she LOST those on the bus but found the others. In the same day. Really? How does that happen?

 

In 2nd grade her prescription changed so we went to Dr. Bizers Vision World (in the mall) where they were having a special, which might actually be an all-the-time special, of $99 for two pair. We went with the 2 pair and hadn't had a problem since. She did break one pair when she fell during ice skating practice this spring. She has been very careful with the last pair. When they come off at night, they go on her desk next to her bed. I know her prescription has probably changed again... more glasses.

 

As far as adjustments go, most eyeglass shops will adjust (and clean) for free even if you did not purchase your glasses from them.

[emubird]

The numbers Zenni Optical asks for are the prescription (which you should have from the doctor) and the pupillary distance (PD). By law (in the US, at least), you can get the PD from the place where you just got glasses. The doctor may also have measured it. You can measure it yourself by holding a ruler up to the eyes and measuring the pupil distance (I think it's center to center. It may say somewhere on the Zenni Optical site).

 

There are a lot of numbers associated with each frame. They measure the size of the frame and the lenses. To be on the safe side. I measured my current glasses and got frames that were similar in dimensions.

 

My reading glasses (one of which is a progressive lens) are all from Zenni Optical. They're fine. If you get the cheapest frames possible, they will probably be a little, well, cheap. And floppy.

 

My husband has a pair of progressive lens glasses that he wears as his main glasses. He's had them 2 years and never complained about them.

 

The ones I got didn't really sit on my face right. The nose piece had to be widened just a touch to get them to ride a little farther down on my nose. We just did it carefully and slowly. If they're bifocal/progressive lenses, they do need to sit in the right spot, but that seems to be a matter only of adjusting the nose piece, which is fairly easy to do.

 

If you had a teenage who is very fashion conscious, Zenni might not be the best option, but for a kid who loses lots of glasses, they would work out well, generally. The only problem is that you can't try on the frames to see if they will feel ok. With single vision glasses, though, they're generally so cheap that it can be worth the gamble. When I bought mine, the cheapest frames ran about 8 dollars, 5 dollars shipping (the lenses are just included in the frame price if they're single vision). 13 dollars is generally a better price than one can get in a store. They were lightweight plastic with polished edges (no extra cost).

Edited September 5, 2010 by emubird

[Renthead Mommy]

My son got his when he was 4. We were overseas and the BX had a lousy kid selection, so the Opt. always suggested 39glasses.com for all the kids.

 

They have a decent selection of $39. We decided to upgrade to the $79 ones with the titanium, bendable frames. They held up great.

 

He's never lost them. For the first two years he did wear are glasses strap. Mainly because he's just bouncy. He bounces through a room and the glasses were bouncing on his face. It took us about two days to realized he'd bounce them right off his head! So he wore a strap and it kept them in place. This year he decided he didn't want it anymore. We said we'd try it. He's still very bouncy, but I guess his head has grown some and the glasses fit a little tighter so they don't bounce up and down on his face.

 

The staps aren't bad and they make some cute ones. Of course my son's was dark brown, same as his hair, and when we first moved in my neighbor thought he had tail! LOL!

[eclipse]

My ds has never lost them. I thought we would have trouble with that (he was barely 5 when he got them), but he was seeing so poorly before that the glasses were like a wheelchair to someone who can't walk, you know? So he's been wearing them for almost 5 years and we've never lost a pair - we have, however, had a few destroyed by little boy antics.

 

Oh, and in the begining, we had one of those straps that allow them to hang around your neck when you take them off, but that was the direct cause of our first pair being broken. When he was bored, he would pull on the cord, which then pulled on the ear pieces and eventually bent them and cause one of them to break. Thankfully we had a very nice optometrist who managed to fix them for free.

 

Oh - also, pay extra for the scratch resistant lenses. If they scratch anyway (and they probably will), you can get them replaced for free under warranty.

Edited September 5, 2010 by eclipse

[Melinda in VT]

My kids were older when they started wearing glasses (right around 9 yo for all three so far), which I think is much easier than trying to keep glasses on a preschooler.

 

My oldest son has lost two pairs long term. One pair I still wonder about. As far as we can tell, they just *poofed* away. The other pair came from my son not taking his glasses off when he should have. (The Mediterranean strikes again.)

 

My daughter keeps losing screws out of her frames. My other son has a tendency to take his off to read and put them someplace where they get stepped on or sat upon. :tongue_smilie:

[Chocolate Lover]

My DS started wearing glasses just after his 8th birthday. Two pair of frames have been damaged. I returned to my old optomitrist with them and she replaced the frames for free as the lenses were still good, and she knew of my tight budget. I have been her customer for about 20 years, myself. It pays to have a good relationship in a small private shop.

[PentecostalMom]

So we found the glasses, YAY! Now, I am scared to order from Zenni because if I get something wrong, then I am stuck with a pair of glasses she cannot wear. So, I am off tomorrow to find her a "spare" that is not $250!!

 

Thanks so much for all the advice/support/pointers! You ladies are simply fabulous!

[texasmama]

I have ordered glasses from zenni optical. The main "different" number you need is PD, pupillary distance, easily gotten from the eye doctor who did the initial exam. I like my cheapo glasses just fine. :001_smile:

[workingmom]

My colleague recommended Zenni Optical to me and I ordered my son's glasses from there. He only wears them occasionally for distance but I'm very happy for the price. I even recommended the site to my patients.

 

The best thing for the numbers is go try on a few pairs and write down the numbers from the temple side and you'll get a range of wear you need to be. The PD you can just get done from Walmart if you didn't get it at the doctor's office.

 

Any glasses place will adjust them for you. Its should be free.

 

As you know already glasses have a tremendous markup. I went overseas recently and bought multiple prescription glasses (spare pairs for me and the kids) for between $4-$10.