Eyeglasses for kids

[LisaRay]

I just found out that my son had an eye test at school today and he didn't do well on it so we need to schedule something for him. There are so many eye places I just don't know where to go.

Any advice on this it's my our 1st time dealing with this. No one else in the immediate family wears glasses.

 

[Diabolicdesire]

When my daughter was younger Sears was reasonable and I believe she got 2 pairs of glasses for 100.00. I don't remember if it was a sale or the reg price though

 

[Nancy F]

Not sure where you are... but they have some nice frames for kids. And they take most insurances. And most have a independent Dr. of Optometry.
Nancy

 

[redlawyer]

I just went through this with dd7. I would suggest taking him to see an opthamologist for a thorough eye exam. Dd wore am eye patch ( pink with a crown on it!) for several hours each day. Our insurance covered all of the doctors appointment but only part of the eyeglasses themselves.

 

[DVCBELLE]

My son got glasses last year and we paid way too much for them at Lenscrafters - I wish that we had gone to WalMart - they have glasses for under $30 a pair and I could have gotten him a pair for home and school!

 

[ah1126]

Do you have vision insurance? You might want to check which places your insurance covers. When I was growing up we went to Walmart to get our glasses. The prices were great and they had a great warranty.
One thing to remember is that you don't have to get your glasses at the same place you get your exam. The prices at some places can get pretty crazy! They should give you a copy of your prescription and you can take it anywhere.

 

[Ceila]

Take your son to a pediatric opthamologist. They will give him a thorough eye exam and determine what his needs are. Your health insurance plan probably has a list of providers. Then, if they prescribe glasses, take him to a local reputable optical shop. Ask friends and neighbors for references for both docs and optical shops. Your school nurse might be able to offer suggestions as well.

I have worn glasses since I was in Kindergarten and my daughter has worn them since 1st grade, so I have lots of experience in this! Feel free to PM me if you like!

 

[krishouse]

HI there,
We went to with our prescription to JC Penneys wonderful deal for my 10 year old son. I believe it was 39.99.
We are so happy with our experience there. Good luck!

 

[3boymthr]

For the opthamologist I'd recommend checking with your pediatrician to see who they recommend.

For glasses, check with the eye doctor your see as well as Sears, Costco, BJs, Lenscrafters, etc. BJs and the eye doctor I go to had the most generous children's glasses plan, in other words most of them stopped at age 12 but BJs went until age 18 and the eye doctor went until the kids outgrew the selection of kids sized frames - age did not apply.

 

[clori]

You could try calling your ped for a recommendation for a pediatric opthamologist and referral if needed for your insurance. When my dd failed the vision screening in 3rd grade and then also told me she couldn't read the board I went to Lens Crafters to get glasses quicker but it wasn't cheap.

Now I go to eyeworld since they usually have Children's glasses for $29 though I pay extra for scratch resistant coating so about $40 a pair. If you can find cheap glasses having two pairs - one for school and one for home is nice.

 

[fakereadhed]

Don't worry yet. My DS failed a school screening test and when we took him to the opthalmologist he said it was testing error- no glasses needed. He was also nice enough to bill it so it was covered under our medical insurance so it was covered.

 

[LisaRay]

WOW! thanks for all the replies!!

Our insurance is a bit of an issue because we sign up at each year at the begining of the year and we sign up for health for the whole family and dental for the whole family but we have never signed up for vision since none of us have needed it. We pay a seperate amount for each (health is a HUGE chunk, with dental being a smaller amount etc).

So as for right now we aren't signed up for vision ins. we can do it starting Jan. 1st but if my son needs glasses I don't want to make him wait for 2 months. I'd feel like a bad mom.

I was just affraid that it was going to cost $$ with the exam, lenses frames and I don't even know what else since I've never done this before.

But thank you for all the replies you've made me feel a little better.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Take your son to a pediatric opthamologist. They will give him a thorough eye exam and determine what his needs are. Your health insurance plan probably has a list of providers. Then, if they prescribe glasses, take him to a local reputable optical shop. Ask friends and neighbors for references for both docs and optical shops. Your school nurse might be able to offer suggestions as well.

I have worn glasses since I was in Kindergarten and my daughter has worn them since 1st grade, so I have lots of experience in this! Feel free to PM me if you like!

THIS except we have had glasses since DS was an infant. You need to know what the issue is and a pediatic optho is so worth it. Might be cheaper anyway as he is covered under medical insurance.

 

[NYCDiane]

I just found out that my son had an eye test at school today and he didn't do well on it so we need to schedule something for him. There are so many eye places I just don't know where to go.

Any advice on this it's my our 1st time dealing with this. No one else in the immediate family wears glasses.

I took my daughter to Wal Mart for her exam and glasses. The doc was extremely thorough and the glasses were great quality. You can get the "deal" with 2 pr of kids glasses and an exam (but I think they only run that in August/September). The regular prices are reasonable, though. They have $10 frames (very plain) and a nice selection of other frames for a bit higher. Another plus is that they cover them for a year --- if they break or anything else, they replace them free of charge. It happened with my daughter. Somehow, she broke the arm on the glasses. I took them to WalMart waiting to hear the "small print" --- there was none. They happened to have the same frame in stock and replaced them right then and there with no charge.

I didn't have insurance when I took her to Wal Mart. Now, I have insurance for her but it only covers Davis Vision and the frames covered by the insurance are horrendously cheap looking and ugly. On top of that, if you want to upgrade to a decent frame or add tinting, the insurance won't cover it at all and you have to pay the entire thing out of pocket. I walked out and won't be using Davis Vision. I'll be taking her to Wal Mart in February for her yearly exam and glasses and pay out of pocket for the whole thing. At least we have experience with the doc there and know we're getting a great deal.

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

So as for right now we aren't signed up for vision ins. we can do it starting Jan. 1st but if my son needs glasses I don't want to make him wait for 2 months. I'd feel like a bad mom.

How old is he? Is he having trouble seeing the board at school?

I am going to go out on a limb, and say waiting until insurance can cover it may not be that big of a deal.

My son said he couldn't see the board in 4th grade. I thought he just wanted a day out of school to go see the eye Dr., and all the kids in his class were getting glasses. No-one else in our fam wears them either. Sure enough - he needed them for distance. We had $100 toward the actual glasses in our Kaiser beneift, so we went from the exam into where you pick out the glasses. Bad move! Even with the $100 discount, we ended up paying way more than I could have at Costco!

 

[LisaRay]

He is 11 years old. 5th grade and I didn't know he was having a problem seeing the board in class but after hearing about the eye exam at school today I asked him about that and he said yes he does have trouble seeing the board!! I'm thinking that was something he could have mentioned before!!
But you know kids!!

 

[SylviaL]

If your son just has a problem seeing the board at school, he probably just needs to see an optometrist. They will check your son's vision and the health of his eyes. In addition, they will tell you if he needs to see an ophthalmologist.

 

[GAGirlInVA]

Pediatric Opth. are usually covered under health insurance not vision.

 

[dyna]

OP check with the school nurse since you have no vision insurance he might qualify for
free glasses

Some states an walmart has paired up to get FREE glasses to kids without vision insurance which was one of the few things my kids ever qualified for as there was no questions about how much money daddy made or anything.

It was the cheapest frames that was free but I was allowed to pay the difference to get DD a more expensive pair....usually the next step up from the cheapest frames. I never had to pay more than 10 or 15.00 out of pocket.

Believe me you can pay big bucks for frames...while I don't usually care for Walmarts cheapest frames (usually out of style frames that did not sell well) there is no dif that I can find over their next priced frame and the most expensive frames out there.

Just because you take son to any eye doctor does not mean that you have to get glasses there the doc can write the prescription an you can ge the glasses at the eye place of your choosing.

Knowing kids an glasses I would suggest getting the glasses close to home because glasses do need adjusted and repaired from time to time esp with young boys which was another reason why I liked Walmart for kids glasses the glasses department was open daily including Sundays an someone can adjust the glasses anytime the department is open. So usually no need to take time off from work to go down an get glasses adjusted an maybe have to drive across town or to another town miles away because that is where you got the glasses.

 

[indimom]

OP check with the school nurse since you have no vision insurance he might qualify for
free glasses

Some states an walmart has paired up to get FREE glasses to kids without vision insurance which was one of the few things my kids ever qualified for as there was no questions about how much money daddy made or anything.

It was the cheapest frames that was free but I was allowed to pay the difference to get DD a more expensive pair....usually the next step up from the cheapest frames. I never had to pay more than 10 or 15.00 out of pocket.

Believe me you can pay big bucks for frames...while I don't usually care for Walmarts cheapest frames (usually out of style frames that did not sell well) there is no dif that I can find over their next priced frame and the most expensive frames out there.

Just because you take son to any eye doctor does not mean that you have to get glasses there the doc can write the prescription an you can ge the glasses at the eye place of your choosing.

Knowing kids an glasses I would suggest getting the glasses close to home because glasses do need adjusted and repaired from time to time esp with young boys which was another reason why I liked Walmart for kids glasses the glasses department was open daily including Sundays an someone can adjust the glasses anytime the department is open. So usually no need to take time off from work to go down an get glasses adjusted an maybe have to drive across town or to another town miles away because that is where you got the glasses.

to all of this.

And, just my 2cents, don't wait until January for the appointment. (I know you said you didn't intend to wait, just wanted to reinforce that call.) While it's most likely just glasses needed, there is always a slim possibility that something else may be going on and delay could make it worse.