The Transition to Glasses

Last month, I shared that Sophie had to unexpectedly get glasses. When I first found out, I tried to do some research to help make the transition more smooth or to find any advice from other moms who had been through a young child getting glasses. I was very surprised that I could not find any helpful resources across the web. So, I decided to make my own resource for that next mom who needs some help in the toddler glasses transition.

1. Make It Fun

Getting glasses was not an easy transition for our 3 year old. It was hard to explain and reason with her why she had to keep something on her face that had never been there before. So, I had to find ways to make it fun. In the moment, it was not easy so it is important to plan ahead. I had some ideas planned, but I would suggest having back up plans. We had a rough few hours when we first got home – I thought I was going to have to revamp a whole new plan. Luckily, after the first couple of days, she really settled in to having her new accessory.

Here are a few ways I was able to make this change more fun for Sophie: I found a Minnie Mouse shirt with Minnie wearing glasses (I found this on Zulily for cheaper but here is the same shirt on Amazon) and a kitty wearing glasses shirt from Carters. I found a Fancy Nancy book that is all about getting glasses. Her bestie gave her a book called Little Bear Needs Glasses that is so cute – you get to put different glasses stickers on each of the characters in the book!

Some ideas that I didn’t have to use were a Sticker Chart, Rewards Bag for filling up the sticker chart or having so many “good days”, making or buying glasses for her dolls and stuffed friends like these.

2. Food Art

When we got home from the picking up the glasses, we were all having a hard time. Sophie didn’t want to keep the glasses on; I was struggling figuring out a way to make her want to keep them on. It was lunch time and I had remembered this idea from a Ritz commercial from prob 10 years ago where a young girl was not happy with her new glasses. When she got home, her spirits were lifted when all of her family members were also wearing glasses and eating cracker snacks that looked like glasses. I recreated this snack with Trader Joe’s Golden Rounds crackers, Peanut Butter (our favorite is the creamy version from TJs), Banana slices, and chocolate chips. Sophie thought these were so silly and delicious, too!

I also made a Rice Krispie treats after naps and used frosting to draw glasses on them for another fun treat surprise.

3. Make a Character

We told Sophie that her glasses were her “Super Hero” glasses and when she had them on she turned into “Super Sophie” – she loved that!

You can even go a step further and get a cape to go with your super hero. There are so many options on Amazon like this one that can fit your child’s personality.

4. Get Friends & Family Involved

We gave out and mailed out these glasses we found on Amazon to Sophie’s favorite people – her cousins and besties around here! I printed them out and pinned them up in a special spot that Sophie could see everyday and every mealtime! These were her “Super Friends”! Since she was Super Sophie, when her friends put on the glasses they became super, too! I even found some pictures of her favorite Disney princesses wearing glasses –  I just searched Google images and found some great options!

5. Allow Extra Treats 

We try to keep treats something that happens not too often so that they stay special and don’t become an expected thing all the time. However, the first couple of days of glasses, this rule kind of went out the window. We decided that the benefits of helping Sophie keep her glasses on would outweigh the disadvantages of extra treats or the possibility of Sophie beginning to expect more treats. Food incentives have always been motivating to Sophie so doing this for a couple days really worked well for us.

Sophie has a follow up appointment with the optometrist in June. Please keep praying with us that the glasses are doing their job to aid in getting rid of the strabismus and the diagnosis stays at her only needing to wear the glasses for a couple years or less!

Any other ideas or success stories from Moms of children who needed glasses at a young age?