Kids Glasses

I need to disagree with Emily.. An active boy with his first pair of glasses needs the protective coating, I would also suggest the anti glare. His eyes will not be used to how the sun and some bright lights can blind you with the lenses. His eyes will be sensitive in the beginning.

On his next pair, you can consider doing without the extras.. but on a first pair, you want him to have success with them, so he will continue to wear them.

Please buy them from a reputable place. Kids do not know if lenses are correct. I would stay away from places like Walmart places letc. he only has one pair of eyes. Scratch resistant is a must, even for adults.

We get glasses for our daughter at Costco and they carry a warranty. If the get scratched, they get replaced.

She has had the same pair for 3 years without a scratch.

The glare resistant coating is good (in my opinion) also... IF you need extras.. go to Zenni Optical.. you can get em for cheap.... you need to know your child's measurements, so once you get those at the docs.. keep them.. this includes PD (pupil distance) <<< they ask this when ordering glasses.. many times, the eye docs don't write it on the actual prescription, make them do it............. so you have it..

My son wears glasses and until most recently, he used one of those bands that keep the glasses on... (they have cute ones in all colors)

Also, they have non-breakable glasses that are very flexible.. Those are also much lighter...

good luck

We got my son a pair with a life time guarantee on them. Totally worth it. He broke 6 pair in one year and it didn't cost us any extra, Scratch resistant will only do so much, they;re likely to get scratched anyway. A bigger issue will be to teach him to wear them consistantly and put them in the same place every night. Insurance covers broken, not lost.

Hi M.-

The anti-glare is definitely something to get. I didn't know about it and Walmart didn't tell me. A year later, I took my daughter to the eye doctor again and she needed a new pair of glasses since her vision got a little worse. So... I went to Lens Crafters and I asked why I couldn't see my daughter's eyes that well in photos. I told her that my daughter's friend also wears glasses but you can see her eyes so clearly in photos. The woman told me that's because she has anti-glare in her glasses. So.... that's when I learned why you should order this feature.

Also.... my daughter likes having the pads above her nose. We went with a very tiny metal pink frame. A lot of the girls are wearing thick plastic frame ones, but we both agreed that she looked best in the metal frames. Have him go with what he likes and not just go with what other boys his age are wearing. My daughter picked out 5 and then eliminated one by one until she picked her very favorite ones.

When we got them the first time we were in Walmart. I can't tell you how happy I was for her, when she looked at signs in the store from a distance and read them! She didn't realize until then just how much she really did need glasses. She was so excited and she didn't care really after that that she had to wear glasses because now she could see crystal clear.

Lens Crafters claims to have a machine that is the best for measuring the distance between pupils and more stuff.... (can't remember). I just happened to take her there after looking at 2 other stores without my daughter liking anything. We loved the help we got at Lens Crafters, too.

Good luck! Oh... yes... we also got the transitional lenses!! Totally worth it for my daughter since she is sensitive to sunlight. The only bad part about these in my opinon is..... hers get so dark when the sun is out that I can't see her eyes in photos. (sometimes she'll just take them off for a picture, then..... her choice.)

We always get scratch proof and Uv protection. I'd get the insurance for a boy because they are usually rough and tumble and they will break easy and you want to be able to replace free of charge lol. If he has very bad eyes i'd get them made thinner so not so heavy for him to wear. many do not like plasticon their nose all day because it gets heavy and uncomfortable. I always want the little rubbber pieces to hold them up

Many states have laws that make safety specifications in regards to children's glasses. They will tell you what your child has to have. Extras on top of that will cost you more.

I would not bother getting extras right now. His prescription will likely change in 6 months. Try to buy the kind of frames that have some flex to them. I admit that I have paid for several years of insurance, for nothing. What happens to us is that my son loses his glasses. The insurance doesn't cover losing his glasses. We eventually find them, and yes, it's an extra pair that gets lost, but we've never even gotten a scratch. If we did, by the time we'd be getting it replaced, it would be time for a new prescription of lens.

Stinks, really...

Dawn

I've gotten scratch resistant because I play with my grandkids. Yes, it's worth it. I'd also get the insurance so that the glasses can be replaced if broken. I've had both the scratch resistant and not scratch resistant and noticed a difference.

The optician will explain all the options to you and tell you which ones are most helpful for a child and why. They've had lots of experience with glasses and kids.

I let my daughter get what she wanted and I took the cheapy glasses. I wanted to be sure she wanted to wear them.

Our eye doctor is right around the corner from our house, which is great. We have already made a few trips in for repairs.

I got the tint and scratch resistant stuff. I don't believe we got insurance, our doctor has fixed them with no problem.

My son loves having the Transition lenses, the ones that automatically turn into sunglasses. He's almost 9 now and has had glasses for a couple years now.
We have gone through so many types of frames. All those kinds that say they won't break, and are all bendy are the first to break we have found. Frankly anything metal break or bend out of shape really badly really fast. The chunkier plastic ones seen to hold up to his activity. He really likes the ones he has right now. They are solid, with no nose pads and plastic. We got them at Lenscrafters.
We both have the anti-glare on them and you can notice the difference. Scratch resistant doesn't do a lot. Mine already have 2 scratches on them and I've had them for not even a month now, and I'm an adult. But, I'd hate to see what my son's glasses would look like without it.
The place you get your glasses from are great at helping you get what you will need.

for my 2 kids (6y who has bifocals and 11y) I got the composite lenses (plastic), anti-glare, and grey transition lenses. that means they darken in the sunlight, so that I don't have to worry about sunglasses too during school. I let them pick the frames so that I would be sure that they would wear them.

Also, I got 2 pairs for each kid. SOOO worth it! My insurance covered half the cost of the 2nd pair if they were bought at the same time as the first.

Not sure how old your son is but.... My oldest daughter got contact lenses when she was 10. My youngest daughter went into contact lenses a week before she turned 9. Contacts are so much easier to deal with once they learn to put them in their eyes.

My oldest started wearing glasses when she was three. Her first two pairs were metal, and she didn't break them (she's very gentle), but they were both uncomfortable, both in sizing and in the little plastic/rubber (whatever) nose pads. I had them readjusted more times than I can remember, and they just never worked. The only reason I got her metal the second time was because the lady INSISTED that kids break plastic glasses even if they are gentle and they don't fit well, blah blah blah.

Fast forward to age 5 and our first pair of plastic glasses. Finally, glasses that fit well and don't pinch behind the ears, and don't leave marks on the bridge of her nose. I've had to get each plastic pair adjusted at about the six month mark because they do loosen with time, but that was a quick two minute (and free) stop.

My office gives free repairs or replacements (of same pair) for a year after purchase, so you may want to shop around a bit.

I have never had anti-scratch or anti-glare for her, and I haven't seen a situation where I would want either.

For sunglasses, my husband bought her a pair that is made to fit over glasses (not the attachable kind, because you can only use those with metal frames typically, but they literally just go on over your glasses.) They work very well, and you can get them for around $10 at Wal-Mart.

You'll have to use your best judgment on some...only you know how active your son is, etc. :) Good luck!

Definitely scratch resistant and antiglare. And stay away from metal frames. Both of my girls' first glasses (7 yrs old) were metal frames and they both broke within 5 months. And they were not extremely abusive on them either. They have had new glasses since April this year (13 yrs old)and are very forgetful where they put them, sit on them, etc and no problems breaking. One did get off balance but the eyeglass place fixed them right up in less than 2 minutes.

As an adult who has worn glasses since I was 4, scratch resistant is worth it! I just got the ant-glare for the first time and I love it - so much easier for reading outside, driving, etc. I would imagine that it would make a world of difference for sports too. If your son does any outdoor sports also consider the transitions lenses. I personally prefer a second pair of glasses that are sun-glasses (I like a very dark sunglass here in S. Florida - didn't matter as much to me when I lived in Virginia.) but for a 6 year old (my son is also 6) I would chose one pair with the transitions lenses.

C.

The only reason you would need the scratch resistance is if you get an anti-reflective coating on them. Depending on how old your son is I dont recommend the AR coating period the glasses are going to get scratched from dropping and getting accidently stepped on, etc. The lenses will be Polycarbonate and that is about all you need with kids glasses. if he is under 5 get the little extensions that hook around his ear they will help you a lot!