I’ll never forget receiving a call from Alex’s 1st grade teacher back in 2013 letting me know that she thinks I should get Alex’s eyes examined. She had noticed him squinting at the chalkboard repeatedly, so she asked the nurse at school to do an eye exam on him. Unfortunately for Alex, he failed it. I felt so bad because I had know idea that Alex had vision trouble. He never complained about not seeing things. He never mentioned that things appeared blurry to him. In all honesty, Alex’s world was normal to him. Everything he saw, he thought was what everyone else saw, too. Since my husband and I don’t have vision problems, we just never thought that one of our kid’s had any issues. It truly never occurred to us. I tear up every single time I tell this story, but I’ll never forget Alex trying on glasses with his prescription in them for the very first time 3 1/2 years ago. He looked at me and said, “So this is what everything is supposed to look like.” In true Alex style, he laughed as he said it, but it touched my heart to the core.
I’ve always made it my mission to let other moms and dads know about the importance of a comprehensive eye exam for children ever since my experience with Alex. There’s an unbelievable stat that I want to share with you that really opened my eyes, 90% of children under the age of 6 who should be wearing prescription glasses are not.
Crazy, right?
My Alex fell right into this category. Don’t let that happen with your child. Make sure you take the time to make an appointment and get one done on your child(ren). Pearle Vision is an incredible place to take your child (and your whole family) for a comprehensive eye exam. Believe me, you need something much more than just covering one eye and reciting letters 10-12 feet away. At Pearle Vision a comprehensive eye exam is taken very seriously. The vision test is extremely thorough and the doctors take the time to look at your eye health and indicators in your eyes that reveal information about your overall eye health. One can expect things like: pupil dilation, a visual acuity test (sharpness of vision), colorblind test, eye cover test, and a glaucoma test. The exam also includes tests to get you or your family member the perfect prescription for glasses or contacts, should you need them. We set out for Alex’s eye exam at the Pearle Vision location in Mansfield, MA.
We had the awesome opportunity to meet with Dr. Renee Gomez who walked us through the entire eye exam before it started and answered my questions before anything began. Since Alex’s vision is something we constantly keep up on, he needs to go for an eye exam routinely to make sure his prescription is still working properly.
Alex has been BEGGING me for contacts for the last year. He’s a big athlete and he’s not able to wear his glasses in the pool or when he’s playing catcher during baseball. This causes tremendous sight issues for Alex and he’s been making the argument with us that if he had contacts, it wouldn’t be that much of an issue. This was something I was anxious to chat with Dr. Gomez about at Pearle Vision. Not to mention he broke his glasses 3 weeks ago playing basketball with his buddies! Since Alex is used to eye exams, he has the routine down.
He actually enjoys it and has fun with the process. Dr. Gomez was incredible, she laughed with Alex and really made him feel comfortable. She’s been the first doctor to ever sit down and explain to Alex what exactly is going on with his eyes. As far as Alex has always been concerned, he just needs glasses. Dr. Gomez told Alex on this trip WHY he needs them.
Alex is farsighted, which means he can see objects at a distance more clearly than those near at hand. Alex also has astigmatism. Essentially astigmatism is defined as a condition of the eye where rays of light from a single point do not focus upon on a single point on the retina.
She also let us know that Alex’s eyes are shaped like footballs! He laughed at this because he’s a GIGANTIC football fan! I loved that Dr. Gomez really took the time to share with Alex in terms he could understand what was going on with his eyes. It made Alex feel comfortable and at ease with her. When it comes to any kind of exam, you always want your patients to feel relaxed. Since Alex’s prescription was perfect, we didn’t need to worry about getting new lens for him, but we took some time to check out some new frames! He LOVES the darker pairs, that’s his comfort zone. I loved how they looked on his face!
And!! We did have the contact conversation. Dr. Gomez assured me that kids Alex’s age CAN do contacts, they just need to be very responsible with them. She showed Alex that she wears them, too. We went ahead and ordered a trial pair for Alex which will arrive in one week. We will head back to Pearle Vision and have them fit Alex and see how they feel. From there, we will start on that journey, too! Alex will always have to wear glasses, but having contacts as an option is a wonderful thing for him. I knew how happy he was when Dr. Gomez gave him the thumbs up on them! We just had a tremendous experience at Pearle Vision.
Take the time to find a location near you and schedule an eye exam for your child and your family. It’s important to stay on top of your eye health.
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Both of my kids wear glasses. Yearly checkups are so important!
I need to get my little man in! He needs to get his eyes checked. I have been a little lacks on it with him hoping that his site just stays good (I know stupid LOL). I will be taking before school starts this year.
This could not have come at a better time. Just the other day I was noticing how close my Little Miss is holding her book while reading. I kind of feel like I need to get her eyes checked.
That is a crazy statistic! My son will be 6 in October – maybe I need to get my son to the eye doctor sooner than I thought!!
My kids haven’t had eye exams yet at an eye doctor’s office, but I imagine they’ll need to within the next couple of years.
My child doesn’t need a vision correction.
tweet–https://twitter.com/mami2jcn/status/758046623083749376
https://twitter.com/ElenaIstomina/status/758046727307862016
I don’t have any kids but some of the children in our extended family wear glasses and have regular eye exams it is so important to stay one it.
My son and daughter do not need eyeglasses at this time. I will be having their eyes checked next month. They have not had any problems with their eyes.
tweet-https://twitter.com/JewelWood/status/758050965886906369
My oldest son wears glasses. It would be fun if he had the contact option!
I had my son’s eyes checked last year when he was having headaches but they said his vision was fine.
I am so glad that you shared this, eye care is important and I think many parents don’t think of it until the school sends home a letter citing their kid needs to see someone. Glad you are opening the door to the subject and sharing your story too!
Having kids tested young is very important. The statistic you shared is staggering. It’s astonishing how many children don’t have glasses who need them.
I wear glasses as well as both of my daughters. Taking care of their eyes is very important to me.
It is so important to get your family’s eyes checked. Sometimes you do not realize how bad your sight is until you get your glasses. We go every year for exams.
My Granddaughter just had a vision check, so far perfect vision.
https://mobile.twitter.com/arress83/status/758105258631495681
My daughter doesn’t need glasses, and my son will need them soon. I started wearing contacts at age 15 and I recently switched back to glasses.
tweet
https://twitter.com/Kellydpa/status/758110666246856704
I love visiting the eye doctor’s! I think it’s important for kids to get their annual as well – my cousin got glasses at such a young age but her parents took her to the eye doctor right away so they caught the problem in no time.
I remember when my son was 6 and he was having some difficulty looking at the blackboard and complaining of headache. I took him to the eye doctor and he has been wearing glasses since then for his myopia.
That is such a crazy statistic! I never realized so many children who needed glasses don’t have them. I guess I rely a little too much on the school vision test and should probably be watching out for signs my kids vision is ok or they need glasses.
Early vision care is very important. Because of early check-ups of my son’s vision, we were able to detect his early stages of astigmatism & get his vision under control right away with corrective lenses.
I need to get my little girl an apt to have her eyes checked. Eye health is so important!
Vision care is an important part of keeping our children safe and healthy. the eye doctor is just as important to see each year as the general pediatrician.
I actually need to make an appointment for my kids. My daughter used to wear glasses but it’s been a long time so we need to get back to the eye doctor.
Eye health is very important for kids. I get my girls checked every year and with all these new style frames kids are looking stylish these days!
I don’t have any kids but I wear glasses and I’m due for some new ones
groogruxking40 @ gmail dot com
tweet- https://twitter.com/groogruxking40/status/758408258335875072
Wearing glasses is so much cooler than it used to be! They used to test our eyes in school if you can believe it! I am amazed by the fact of 90% of children. WOW.
My kids do not need eyeglasses yet, they have their vision checked regularly.
tcarolinep at gmail dot com
tweet-https://twitter.com/tcarolinep/status/759151025546678272
Both my boys haven’t had vision problems and we do get them checked about once a year. Both my wife and I realize the importance of vision and having it tested.
I tweeted: https://twitter.com/FireRunner2379/status/759507831074725888.
Only our youngest son wears glasses. However, we make sure all our kids gets yearly exams. Thanks so much.
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/peg42/status/759813279715848196
Thanks again.
two of my children wear glasses and contacts
https://twitter.com/linjumimom/status/759836172256481280
All three of my kids wear glasses.
My daughters teacher noticed she was having trouble reading the board so we took her to the eye Dr and she needed glasses. She has yearly check ups.
https://twitter.com/susan1215/status/760264533315244032
My niece wears glasses and gets her eyes checked every 1-2 years. She mainly needs them for reading and seeing the white board at school. My mom and brother also grew up wearing glasses.
tweet https://twitter.com/yarbr012/status/760475352883982338
https://twitter.com/Natashalamoreu1/status/760635128754401280
I took my girls last week for exams and we are waiting on new frames. My daughter was a bit bummed that she needs glasses to be able to drive.
Haven’t take the kids to the eye exams. Thanks for sharing your experience and definitely good to check it out before school starts again!
amy [at] uTry [dot] it
tweeted:
https://twitter.com/uTry_it/status/760739458614308864
amy [at] uTry [dot] it
2 daughters wear glasses, everyone else’s vision is good
https://twitter.com/sodahoney/status/761059884540452865
I can’t even remember what year I first needed lenses, but I know it was before high school. I figured it out myself when I realized other people could read things up on a wall that I couldn’t.
tweeted
https://twitter.com/rubylorikeet/status/761271474829221889
My daughter wears glasses.
Tweet https://twitter.com/Lindiac/status/762421309519245312
Our whole family needs to have our vision checked, so this was a good reminder!
My kids wear glasses. We have a nice optometrist that we go to yearly.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Michael64263870/status/763165773770678272
lucky..none of mine need glasses.
tweeted at
https://twitter.com/wizardewu/status/763570207549825024
tweeted at
https://twitter.com/wizardewu/status/763570999086370817
my kids watch toi much video…will need glasses
I tweeted this at
https://twitter.com/leedhowell/status/763577916177383424
everyone’s got 20/20 .. so far.
Tweeted at
https://twitter.com/wizardewu/status/763578833463152640
My son’s vision is good, no need for any glasses.
jslbrown2009 at aol dot com
tweet-https://twitter.com/LuLu_Brown24/status/763685421511356416
jslbrown2009 at aol dot com
My kids both have good vision, but it’s time for them to have a checkup. Thanks for the reminder!
tweeted https://twitter.com/dmarie824/status/763802715717763072
Kids don’t need glasses yet but I do! =) Truckredford(at)Gmail(dot)com
https://twitter.com/eliza_elliott/status/764545514377400320