OT: Help-Prescription sunglasses for young children?

[fireworks fan]

I'm looking for some been there, done that advice from other parents of small children that need glasses. My DS 3 has been wearing glasses for about 6 months, and with the summer coming, I've been thinking about prescription sunglasses. I've had my kids wearing sunglasses from very young ages to protect their eyes, and usually ended up going through several pairs a season to loss and breaks. So I'm thinking I should buy DS prescription sunglasses, but I'm worried about investing a lot of money in something that might get lost or broken quickly. However, he is now pretty good about being careful with his regular glasses, so maybe he would be more careful with his sunglasses.

Any suggestions for me? Places you recommend for inexpensive prescription sunglasses? TIA!

 

[2Kds2K9]

Can you get transitions lenses for him? DS has been wearing glasses since he was 5 and we just got the transition ones this year. He said we should have done that a long time ago for him.

Also, they do have prescription swim goggles. My DS loves his! You can get them at most dive shops and they cost about $30-40. Just make sure you know the prescription.

Good luck.

 

[momma2minnie]

Try this http://www.zennioptical.com/cart/home.php if you decide to go the sunglasses route.

I have never personally used them but have read alot about them here on the boards.

I have worn glasses since I was in the third grade. I decided a few years ago to get Rx sun glasses. Talk about a PIA! Put 'em on, Take 'em off, switch to Inside glasses, find a place to put 'em, yadda, yadda, yadda! (And I was 20 something)

I have no experience with transition lenses but I suggest that route, if they are available

 

[mykidslovesdisney]

DD5.9999 (almost 6) has been wearing glasses for a few years. I got her a pair that has clip on sunglasses. They are easy for her to clip on and take off if needed. I did it w/ out WDW trip in mind. You might find a child's eye care shop that has generic sunglass clips that would work with his glasses. They were fairly inexpensive ($55ish) considering her glasses were over $300.

HTH

 

[momma2minnie]

DD5.9999 (almost 6) has been wearing glasses for a few years. I got her a pair that has clip on sunglasses. They are easy for her to clip on and take off if needed. I did it w/ out WDW trip in mind. You might find a child's eye care shop that has generic sunglass clips that would work with his glasses. They were fairly inexpensive ($55ish) considering her glasses were over $300.

HTH

Forgot about the clip-on option. I tried that too but for me it was the same PIA.

Your DD is a better *woman* than me!

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Our DD7 wears glasses, we too got her clip ons, but we got thm at Walmart for about $17. They had lots of sizes and shapes and the ones we got pit her glasses perfectly. She has not lost them as of yet, but if she does we are only out $17.

 

[2poohbears]

my son has been wearing glasses since around age 2 (he's 5 now).

we did transitions lenses last year, and he requested that we NOT do them this year when we changed his glasses. i was kind of glad because i found that sometimes even in indoor pictures the lenses were a bit colored. also, their school class picture was taken outside, and he has those dark lenses on his face in the picture.

we just bought the clip-on sunglasses, and they work great. got them from the eye care place where we bought the glasses, for around $17.

 

[3boymthr]

We have clip ons for the boys they work just fine - I paid $40 but was able to hand down DS#1s set to DS#2 when DS#1 out grew his - and if you get the same shape glasses they will last for several years.

DH has Transitions and they are not only light sensitive but temperature sensitive. They can turn darker when it's very hot (above 90), even if it's dark out and they won't always turn dark if it's very cold out (below 20), even if it's really bright (think blinding sun on a ski slope). Also, they won't turn dark in a car that has UV glass so he still has to have prescription sunglasses for driving. He says he won't buy Transitions again.

 

[asoko]

We got clip ons for our DD4 from Walmart also. They are actually the smallest regular size since we couldn't find childrens. We tried on every one to see which fit the best. They were about $10 and she is not allowed to take them off by herself. We decided transitions wouldn't work for her because they wouldn't change fast enough when we went inside and didn't get prescription sunglasses because we wouldn't get our money's worth. We've already been thorough 3 frames and prescriptions.

 

[zoemurr]

a pair at zenni for $17 shipped. Had them checked out at the eye dr. and they are perfect. She was begging for them for Disney last year and I wasn't up for spending a lot of $.

 

[here757]

a pair at zenni for $17 shipped. Had them checked out at the eye dr. and they are perfect. She was begging for them for Disney last year and I wasn't up for spending a lot of $.

i get the pair my insurance pays for from the doc.. but the play glasses come from zenni..
ive had no issues with themm. cheap and quick
for 8 bucks i dont care if they get run over or lost LOL

 

[design_mom]

My DS started wearing glasses at 14 months. We bought the clip-ons for him, too. The first pair of glasses we bought didn't have matching clip-ons, but the "glasses guy" was able to find another pair that would fit, so we ordered those. Since then, we choose frames that have a the sunglasses as an option.

Still, though, since the style these days is for relatively small lenses there's quite a bit of light that sneaks in around the sides/top of the clip-ons. (Would be the same with straight prescription sunglasses if you got the same style as your regular glasses, I'd assume). I make my DS wear a hat most of the time. It cuts down on sun in his eyes -- and is better for overall sun protection, too.