Where to Buy Children's Glasses?

I recently got kid's glasses at Lenscrafters. I would recommend the protection plan. SO, if my rough and tumble little man manages to break these, I pay a co-pay of about $25-30 to get them replaced.

zennioptical.com

The frames start at like $7 INCLUDING lenses, for the most basic frames. For $20 I got my son a back-up pair that he likes more than the ones I spent $150 at LensCrafters. Plus at that price, I don't have to be freaking out constantly about whether he'll drop them, break them, or lose them. I just got him an extra pair for less than the insurance plus deductible on the first pair!

Get scratch resistant coating, and light weight lenses. Beyond that, it's a waste for a little kid.

Hope this helps.
T.

I recently bought glasses at Costco, and their prices were really good.

Part of what you need will depend on the age of the child, and the strength of the prescription. For my son, I bought a good frame with springy hinges. It is sturdy enough that it can be used for many years even if the lenses need to be changed out. He is old enough that we aren't worried about him taking the glasses off and playing with them or sitting on them. He doesn't do a lot of rough play or sports, and his prescription is not very strong so we didn't need thicker frames. We added scratch protection and the transitions lenses that makes them turn into sunglasses in bright light. This was way more expensive, but he had been complaining about his eyes hurting in bright lights.
For myself, my prescription is so strong that I have to get the high index plastic lenses. I was able to re-use an old frame and just order the lenses from costco even though the frames didn't come from there. I always get the anti-glare and anti-scratch coatings, and the edges polished so they don't look as thick from the side.
I had a bad experience with Walmart. Their frames were reasonably priced, but they added an extra fee beyond their advertised prices for higher prescriptions. Other places I've been have had poor quality coatings that completely chipped off in a few months, so a warranty is a good thing to have.

Walmart for years now....best kid deals around.

EDIT: spring hinges!! Very important!!

I'd get scratch resistant. They all come with UV protection now. As for plastic or metal I think the age of the child. Younger I'd say plastic that is softer and bendable but not big coke bottles that will have the kids making fun of the child. I'd look for deals in your sunday paper. Also a lot of eye glass stores are having sales these days

Ok, the answer I am about to give you may not be the most "popular" option, but it can save you tons of money.
I personally buy my glasses online. I use a site called http://www.zennioptical.com/ . I measured my current glasses and features of my face (Like the bridge of my nose and the length of my arms of my current glasses). I got the full prescription from my optometrist, which includes your PD number, the distance between your pupils.
My nephew, who is all of 4 years old, now has to wear glasses. My SIL bought him glasses at the doctors office, and it set her back almost $400. No joke, he has really bad eyes. Needless to say, they were broken and scratched in no time. (and she was IRATE! I mean wouldn't you be?) She got him an adorable pair of glasses that fit him perfectly for less than $20. When they went back for his check up, the doctors were really happy with the vast improvements in his vision because of wearing glasses, so the less expensive ones were just as good as the ones with the really high price tag. Seriously though, he is so stinking cute in his glasses!
Oh! And you can add things to the lenses when you check out, such as anti-reflection coatings and tent if you want them to be prescription sunglasses. Zenni is GREAT for getting prescription sunglasses.

Sear's
Costco

Plastic frames.
Metal bends.
Get spring hinges.

Get the extra features.
Even I get that.
Its worth it.

www.zennioptical.com

They have glasses from $15 - $25 dollars a pair.

We got ours at the eye docs office. They are always there and can take a moment to adjust the glasses if they get bent, they can check the eyes, fit the glasses to their faces, do all kinds of things.

I can't imagine buying the glasses anywhere that the doc cannot see them and check them before the kids even puts them on.

we always went to wal-mart. we buy the warranty if it doesn't already come with it. we also get the bendy arms ( I'm not sure what they are called lol, but the arms have some give to them) and the scratch resistance.

My ex always goes to Lens Crafters. He likes them better since you can get the two for one deals.

Yes they all cost a bit more but in the long run.. even with in the year it is so worth it. Its much cheaper than a new pair of glasses!

Definantly get the scratch resistance for kid glasses and the warranty. They have flex frames in plastc that help cut down on brakage, and children are hard on glasses, so keep that in mind when buying the "extras". My husband still purchases they "extras" because glasses go through a lot! Also get a pair of sunglasses, or transitions lens if you only want to buy one pair.

Updated

Definantly get the scratch resistance for kid glasses and the warranty. They have flex frames in plastc that help cut down on brakage, and children are hard on glasses, so keep that in mind when buying the "extras". My husband still purchases the "extras" because glasses go through a lot! Also get a pair of sunglasses, or transitions lens if you only want to buy one pair.

We just bought my 3.5 year old some glasses at Target. They had a pretty good selection and they weren't too expensive. We got the anti-glare coat. Pricey, but probably worth it. The protection plan was pretty cheap and we felt a necessity with a young child. Good luck!

S.

My husband and I started wearing glasses at pretty young ages. I was in 1st grade, he was in 3rd. So, we figured our poor children would have bad eyes also. We were correct. Haha! Our two oldest (ages 13 and 9) both have had glasses for awhile now. At first we ordered their glasses through the doctor's office. Even with our great insurance, 2 pairs of glasses would cost us over $300. And their prescription tends to change ever time we go for a check up so that $300 was adding up. Because of that, I decided to check out Walmart. We took the kids for their normal check up then I asked for a copy of their new prescription so I could get glasses elsewhere. I'm so glad I did! My daughter's glasses, lenses and frames together, cost $50. So much better than the $300 from the eye doctor. And they're super cute! She likes them better than the previous expensive ones too. I'll never go back to buying glasses from the doctor again.

My son is three. We went to an expensive optical store for his first pair..after we received them ($350 later) I wanted a second pair "just in case". We bought them at Walmart, I got the thinner lenses, anti-glare, and a nice frame...they were actually just as nice as the ones we got at the pricey optical store and cost about half the price. The selection was not as good but with the over all savings I was surprisingly pleased with what Walmart had to offer...Give em a try.