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Here are 5 tips spectacle wearers should follow!

Wearing spectacles is a big step in a child’s life, and sometimes a tricky and uncomfortable one! Help your child navigate through this new experience by ensuring that they are equipped with the skills needed to take care of their new spectacles.

1. Teach your children how to put on or take off their glasses from their faces safely!

Explain to them that they have to use both hands to put on or remove their glasses, so that their spectacle frames do not get misaligned.

Model this behaviour by showing them how to do it, and provide them with positive reinforcement each time you see them doing this correctly. They will adopt this new behaviour in no time!

2. What should they do after taking off their glasses?

As parents, we know that spectacles are not cheap. Remind your little ones not to place their spectacles downwards on the table or other surfaces as this will scratch the lenses. Explain to them that even clean surfaces can scratch the lenses of glasses, so when setting their glasses down, they should make sure that the lenses are facing them and not the table.

3. In fact, you can skip the table altogether – use spectacle cases!

Upon purchase, most opticians will provide you with a free case for your spectacles. Some even have cute cartoon-themed mini cases for children! When they are not using their spectacles, ask them to place it in the case. It is not uncommon for spectacles to be damaged when mishandled, such as placing them in your pockets or bags.

4. How do you clean your glasses? (Hint: you should not be using your t-shirt)

Kids always seem to have sticky fingers one way or another, and if they touch their glasses during the day, it is going to leave fingerprints or smears that can obstruct vision.
A good practice is to get your child to wash their spectacles at least once a day or whenever they are dirty, using mild soap and water, then wiping them clean with a soft cloth.
Using clothing or paper towels can actually scratch the lenses, so make sure the cloth you are using is a microfiber optical cleaning cloth (usually provided by opticians in the spectacles case).

5. How do you know you should change your child’s glasses?

If they complain of not being able to see clearly even when wearing their spectacles, or if they have any blurry vision, headaches, dizziness, their spectacles may not be right for them and need to be changed as soon as possible. It’s important that you also keep up-to-date with the recommended follow-up eye appointments set by your optometrist or eye doctor, even if your child has no symptoms.

Spectacles take some getting used to, so if you have a child who keeps forgetting to wear theirs, check out planoApp, which has a spectacle wear reminder, where it alerts your child when they forget to wear their glasses!