2 Quick Things About Childrens Vision
I see a lot of pediatrics & I get both of these next 2 topics occurring with my patients more than I'd like to. I'd like to comment on them as politely as I can:
1) LEAVING THE GLASSES AT SCHOOL: children who need glasses need to be able to wear them all the time. I get some teachers/school nurses/counselors/parents who get fed up with a child who forgets to wear their glasses, breaks the glasses, loses the glasses...and the teacher or whomever decides that its a good idea to "leave the glasses at school" so the child can wear them during school hours & not lose them. So they tell a -4.00 myope basically "you can only see during school hours". I think this is a terrible idea. If the child sees poorly w/o glasses, then the child needs to be able to wear them at home, even if its inconvenient for the school. Children lose/break/forget their glasses. Its a fact of life. But don't saddle the kid with poor vision all weekend & 6 hrs a day during the week by leaving the glasses at school.
2) FITTING A CHILD IN CONTACTS BECAUSE THEY LOSE/BREAK THEIR GLASSES: occasionally a parent gets fed up with a child who is irresponsible with their glasses (loses them, breaks them, etc) and their idea is to "just put them in contacts". Their logic is that contacts (if lost) are cheaper to replace and that if the contacts are extended wear, the child is less likely to lose them, break them, forget them vs glasses b/c they can just wear the contacts 24/7. However contacts require MORE responsibility on the patient's part vs glasses...not less. There is more risk when the child does not comply with the regime & wearing schedule of the contacts than there is when they forget/lose/break their glasses. "Just put them in contacts" is not the "answer" for a child who continually breaks/loses/forgets their glasses.
1) LEAVING THE GLASSES AT SCHOOL: children who need glasses need to be able to wear them all the time. I get some teachers/school nurses/counselors/parents who get fed up with a child who forgets to wear their glasses, breaks the glasses, loses the glasses...and the teacher or whomever decides that its a good idea to "leave the glasses at school" so the child can wear them during school hours & not lose them. So they tell a -4.00 myope basically "you can only see during school hours". I think this is a terrible idea. If the child sees poorly w/o glasses, then the child needs to be able to wear them at home, even if its inconvenient for the school. Children lose/break/forget their glasses. Its a fact of life. But don't saddle the kid with poor vision all weekend & 6 hrs a day during the week by leaving the glasses at school.
2) FITTING A CHILD IN CONTACTS BECAUSE THEY LOSE/BREAK THEIR GLASSES: occasionally a parent gets fed up with a child who is irresponsible with their glasses (loses them, breaks them, etc) and their idea is to "just put them in contacts". Their logic is that contacts (if lost) are cheaper to replace and that if the contacts are extended wear, the child is less likely to lose them, break them, forget them vs glasses b/c they can just wear the contacts 24/7. However contacts require MORE responsibility on the patient's part vs glasses...not less. There is more risk when the child does not comply with the regime & wearing schedule of the contacts than there is when they forget/lose/break their glasses. "Just put them in contacts" is not the "answer" for a child who continually breaks/loses/forgets their glasses.
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