How You Can Prep Your Grade-Schooler For Their New Bifocals

Unfortunately, the fear of being bullied is something most kids deal with who find out that they've been prescribed bifocals. If the experience is not a good one, wearing glasses can have a negative effect on your child's self-esteem levels and make them feel poorly about themselves overall. The good news is that with your support and encouragement, your grade-schooler should be able to more easily adjust to wearing glasses and maintain a positive self image. Here are a few things you can do to help prepare your child for their new bifocals:

Invest in a Pair of Fake Glasses

It's a good idea to get your child used to wearing glasses before their bifocal prescription is ready so they can easily adapt to putting them on each morning and keeping them on throughout the day. You can do this by purchasing a pair of fake glasses in the toy section of your local department store and having your grade-schooler wear them in the days before their prescription is ready.

This process will give them a chance to get familiar with the feel of wearing glasses, as well as get them used to their new look in the mirror. If your child does well wearing them at home, take the glasses with you to the park or to run errands so there is always an opportunity to practice wearing them in public. To ensure that your little one will want to wear the fake glasses, let them pick out the color and design themselves.

Practice Daily Reading Together

Until your child is used to wearing them, bifocals can cause them headaches and dizzy spells while reading. Because of this, it's a good idea to practice reading to each other at home each evening until your child gets used to how their prescription affects their eyes. Commit to spending ten to fifteen minutes each day reading a book with large font to one another until you're confident that your grade-schooler has adjusted to their new bifocals. Practicing at home should provide your child with the confidence they need to read the chalkboard aloud at school too.

If your little one seems to be struggling, send their teacher a letter to let them know about what's going on and ask for a seating adjustment that puts your child in the front of the classroom near the chalkboard. The teacher may even agree to refrain from asking your child to read aloud in class while they adjust to wearing their new glasses.

Host a Weekly Parent-Child Play Date

Consider creating a support group for yourself and your child by hosting a weekly play session for kids in the community who wear glasses and their parents. These play dates will give your child a chance to play and create friendships without having to worry about what they look like or how their glasses will affect their time. This time will also give you a chance to talk to the other parents about your challenges and to share support on a variety of parental issues that revolve around wearing glasses.

Ask each parent to bring along a list of challenges and successes they have experienced with their children throughout the week so you have topics to focus on while the kids play. Consider having parents take turns bringing an arts and crafts project to the play dates so the kids can practice different social and team building skills each time they meet.

With the help of these tips and tricks, you should be able to prepare your child for a positive experience once they start wearing their bifocals on a daily basis.