Premature birth and inherited medical conditions such as eye disease can sometimes interfere with a baby's ability to see. On rare occasions, a baby may require eye glasses at a very young age. A lack of understanding of the situation, as well as a young child's natural curiosity, can make keeping your baby's glasses on his face quite a challenge. Making glasses part of his normal life can help you get your baby to wear his glasses without too much of a fuss.
Step 1
Choose a flexible plastic frame for your baby's glasses. KidsHealth.org, an information service from the Nemours Foundation, suggests that plastic frames are an ideal choice for toddlers and babies younger than two years old. A plastic frame can conform to the contours of your baby's face more easily than a metal frame, and it is more resistant to breaking.
Step 2
Introduce your baby to his glasses when he is happy and therefore most accepting of new ideas, explains KidsGrowth.com. Present the eye glasses after a nap or during a time of play when your baby is enjoying himself.
Step 3
Put the glasses on your baby's face and react firmly, but gently, each time she takes them off. This is natural behavior to a small child who is experiencing something new, but she must understand that the glasses are not a toy. Put them back on when she takes them off, or say "no" when she tries to detach the glasses from her face.
Step 4
Ease your child into wearing glasses by putting them on for short periods of time at first. Gradually, lengthen the glasses-wearing time until he is wearing them as much as required by his eye doctor. As your baby gets used to wearing the glasses, he may not notice them as much and may even forget that he is wearing them.
Step 5
Read books or engage in other activities in which your child might notice that she can see better. Very small babies will most likely not understand this difference, but as a child grows older, she will eventually connect the dots and realize that she sees the pictures better when she is wearing her glasses. As she makes this connection, she may not resist wearing her glasses as much.
Step 6
Purchase accessories that will keep your child's glasses in place. Stores that sell frames and lenses may also sell elasticized bands that attach to the stems of the frames and secure the glasses to the back of your child's head. If your baby does not like wearing his glasses, he may still fuss, but he will have more difficulty removing his glasses.
Step 7
Wear your own glasses if you require vision correction. Many young children copy their parents and want to emulate their behavior. Point out to your baby that he looks just like you, in an effort to keep his own glasses on for longer periods of time.
Tips and Warnings
- Check your baby's glasses often to ensure that they still fit correctly, especially if you notice her pulling at her glasses more often than usual. A young child grows very quickly and may require new glasses frames frequently. Make sure the frames do not pinch the ears or nose.
Things You'll Need
- Elastic glasses strap
