My 9 year old daugter wants to use reading glasses, but does not need them.?

Question

I'm trying to tell her that it can damage her eyesight by using them when they're not needed.

However, I can not find ANYTHING supporting my claim.

Am I wrong?
Will reading glasses affect a persons perfect vision in any way?

If you know of something definitive from a quality source could you copy and paste a shortcut, or a snippet from it.

Answer 1

Assuming your daughter has "perfect vision" (no refractive error, adequate focusing abilities, and normal eye alignment), low powered reading glasses would likely not be detrimental to her vision.

However, if she has decreased accommodation (focusing) skills or even slight ocular misalignment, reading glasses, even low powers, can adversely affect her visual system...maybe even lead to poorer production at school. These are usually things only an eye care professional can detect. I highly recommend scheduling a comprehensive vision examination with a local vision care provider to better evaluate your daughter's vision on an individual basis to determine the need (or in her case, the desire) for near activity spectacles.

The AOA recommends children get their first exam at 6 months, three years, before starting school and then annually to ensure ocular health and visual integrity.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Old Reading Glasses

Answer 4

You are right! Do not let your daughter use reading glasses if they are not needed as they very well could damage her vision. I know that a lot of younger kids and even adults and teenagers like the idea of having glasses, contacts, etc. I am not sure what it is, but I have seen this situation many times before. Stick your ground, and tell her over again how it can damage her vision! Good Luck!

Answer 5

She wants glasses because someone she respects or looks up to must wear them. You can buy glasses with just plain glass lenses. Pick her up a pair, try the walmart vision center and give her those. Then she'll be fine.

Wearing corrective glasses when you don't need them may not permanently damage her vision but it will give her a wicked headache with a side of bad eyestrain.

Answer 6

Glasses will not hurt damage your eyes unless a person is very young. That said, I used to work for an eye doctor and 9 year old girls were very good at subconsciously convincing themselves that they needed glasses. We called it malingering, but they seemed to really believe that they couldn't see, or had absolutely no conscience about lying. I am not sure which. Maybe this is what is going on with your daughter.

Answer 7

My daughter wanted glasses so bad when she was 7 that when they called her name at the optomotrist's office, she held onto the walls like she was blind. She told him she could not see the biggest "E." He didn't know what to do. I told him to show me the inexpensive frames display and had her pick out a pair and we got no prescription in them. She wore them for about a year, taking them off and putting them on the teacher's desk for recess and everything. It's not that big a deal. Just do the same and make the kid happy. Tell her they are reading glasses. You need to win the wars not these small battles. My daughter just loved her glasses and still talks about them.

Answer 8

I'll back up the other optometrist who answered this one....with one small exception. (and all of us have training in binocular vision/disorders) Very low powered reading glasses won't decrease any child's production in school. Higher powered reading glasses? Yes, possibility. But lower powers will only serve to magnify a little bit. And no, your eyes don't get worse by wearing glasses.

I can't tell you how many parents I've had in my office who were in situations like yours. I'm very upfront with them. A)Your child does not need glasses to increase visual acuity or performance. B)You can get them a very low powered pair of glasses for reading, or, even glasses with blank lenses in them. All to shut them up. :) C)Tell the child the truth and stick to your guns.

It's really up to you. No harm in any direction.

Answer 9

Wearing glasses does tend to cause the werer to need stronger, and stronger glasses.

But with reading glasses, this is not necessarily a bad thing.

As most people's eyesight deteriorates, they become nearsighted. People who need reading glasses are farsighted.

"damaging" her eyesight is one way to look at it, but it's just as likely to ensure that she'll never need glasses to read street signs.

Answer 10

Hi Melissa I wouldn't do it, I'm 16 and I have had contacts since I was 13. I think it would be best to have contacts at such a young age since a lot of care is requried. My cousin who is 8 years old wears contacts and she forgot to remove them when she fell asleep, and the contact got stuck in her eye and pierced her eyes lens and she requried surgery to remove them and now she has lost the vision in her left eye. Wait it out tell your daughter my cousins story it's not a good a idea. Hope I could help you and your daughter and best of luck in everything :)