The doctor that year said she would probably need some in the next few years (her vision was something like 20/40), but at this age they didn't really recommend putting a kid in glasses unless their eyesight was really bad.
A few days ago, we decided to take her in for another appointment, as she's starting school this next fall and if she did need glasses, she'd have time to get used to wearing them before school this year.
The eye doctor this time said something similar to the previous optometrist, going on about how no, her vision wasn't perfect, but a child this age really doesn't need to see much farther than a few feet in front of them. Okay. But her vision was still lower than some people who should wear glasses to drive a car.
I explained how I just wanted her to be able to see the chalk board so she could do well in school this year, and the lady said, "Oh, then no, she wouldn't be able to do that without glasses." Then she went on about how we shouldn't force her to wear them, and maybe she should just have them at school or put them on when she really needs them.
Um, hello? What the heck was she talking about before then? I just nodded politely, vowing to do no such thing.
So guess what we got to pick out that morning?
First, they tried some dark frames on her, which she didn't like at all. We looked at several blue, pink, and red frames. Elora's favorite color is red; the lady handing them to her seemed to be partial to blue, and we all thought the pink were very attractive. I was pushing toward the metal frame styles, but I wanted to be sure we got some that Elora really loved...and she mostly liked the plastic ones.
I remember when I got my first glasses (at age nine). I had planned on either getting blue (my favorite color) or pink (a color all the other girls would think was cool.) But in the end, I chose some light amber brown frames, just because they seemed to look better with my hair and face than the brighter colors.
I also remember that the first thing I noticed when we left the eye doctor, was how clearly I could see the individual trees on the nearby mountains. I had no idea other people could actually see those all the way from town!
In the end, Elora seemed very happy with her choice. She was really excited to go out and show daddy how cute they were when we came to get them fitted later this afternoon. (The person who fitted them was a man, if you're confused about the masculine hands in the pictures.)
Oh, and the color she chose? Exactly the same as my first pair.
But I have to say, she was a whole lot cuter than I was in my first glasses....but that might have something to do with me cutting my own bangs right before school pictures. And the popular glasses styles of 1987 may not seem so fetching these days.
One more thing of note. After we got back in the car and started driving through town, Elora looked up at the pine-covered Black Hills surrounding us and exclaimed, "Look, I can see all the pointy parts on those trees!" And that, I felt, completely justified letting my five-year-old wear glasses, even though a "child her age doesn't really need to see the world much further than a few feet in front of her."
10 comments:
Of course this is completely anecdotal - it seems to me that I read a while back about how eyes can adjust if you work with them, but if you give them crutches (glasses) they will degenerate more quickly. Maybe that is what the lady was thinking (but not sharing). She looks great!
Yea! She looks great!
sarah h- I've heard that too, and I've seen people squinting like crazy because they need glasses but don't want to weaken their eyes. But I've also heard from some eye doctors that it's completely untrue.
Maybe I've got a prejudiced viewpoint because my eyes are so bad and I wouldn't wish worse vision on anyone...I guess I'm just glad that now she can see things she couldn't see before!
I guess I'm also thinking about how when I was younger my prescription changed quite a bit from age 9 to age 17, but then it stayed the same for at least 15 years without getting any worse.
I think it's great that you're getting her glasses so she can see. I didn't glasses until I was 16 because I needed them to be able to drive. That said, I never wore them in high school and I know I missed a lot of great views. My "aha" moment came my first year in college. I had just bought contacts. As my roommate and I walked to the student center from the dorms, I asked her what the points of light around the horizon were. They were stars! I had no idea stars were distinct points of light instead of blurs!
She looks absolutely darling in her glasses!
Isabelle said that Elora looks very pretty with her glasses. I like the brown frames too. :) Yeah I think that's dumb that they're all; "well no she wouldn't be able to see the chalkboard" as if that wasn't an important thing to consider? Dummy heads. Patrick has like 20/15 vision and I think I had 20/30 one time, though it's probably worse now.
She looks adorable! And of course she needs to see, duh... Excellent choice, Elora!
So so Cute! And if she likes them and they help her see better then why the heck not!?
What a nutsy lady, telling you how she won't "need" them. Hello?
I think she looks so cute. How does she like them?
julie- oh yeah, I think I remember that story! And how sad for people to miss out on visions like that just because they're not utilizing the technology (Glasses) available to them?
Kiera- tell Isabelle, Elora says thanks.
Doreen, Rikki, Missy- thanks! She still really likes them She's still getting used to them rubbing on her ears (I wish we lived closer to get the fit adjusted) but she's excited to put them on every day.
The photo of you is simply darling. I did the same thing with my hair but it ended up about a quarter inch long as I kept trying to get each side even.
She's so cute in glasses! Everyone should see the pointy parts of trees.
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