Is having -1.00 vision in both eyes (near sighted) worth getting glasses?

I would have been miserable being near-sighted and not having glasses when my eyes started to go wonky when I began fourth grade. I believe that the glasses have no relation to the changes in the eye’s actual cornea and lens.

What has the eye doctor said?
I was in fifth grade when I started having to move quite close to the board to take notes..I remember my teacher approaching me and telling me it was time to tell my parents. I got glasses soon after, and it helped me in school so much. I didn’t realize what I was missing.

Early perceptual development with impaired vision can have long lasting effects. Children use their vision to learn how to manipulate objects in their environment. One diopter difference feels like a lot to me. Do what you think is best for the child.

Sorry, but denying the kid glasses now will not stop them from needing them later. At best, you’ll get someone who is functionally blind.

I tried that route and I can tell you, it doesn’t work. Fortunately I never killed anyone while driving….

I started to get migrains just before I found out I needed glases and I only had a mild perscription. It depends on how you feel, I am not a medical professional but II am guessing if your child needs glasses now they will need them in the future!

When I first got glass at age 12 I put them on and couldn’t believe the definition of the leaves on the trees. I don’t know how long my eyes had been crappy for but they certainly helped me in school.

The same thing happened with a friend of mine who had the same glasses for a decade. Before she got new glasses, she would speed through intersections because she couldn’t see the stop signs!

@rowenaz: If the child does not get his/her eyes corrected, s/he will start squinting to make things clearer (like the blackboard, movies, TV, etc. if she is near-sighted). That is not good for her skin, her grades and her morale.

Your reasoning about glasses is faulty. Check with your ophthalmologist or read about the causes of myopia and astigmatism.

Okay, so we ordered the glasses, and she will only use them at school if she can’t see the board. Also, we will spend more time outside.

Why limit her, and what does spending more time outdoors have to do with faulty vision?

It wasn’t my reasoning, it was what the doctor said , that glasses at this age can contribute to the problem.

A study that he talked about said that children who spent more time outside with natural light had better eyesight and the research concluded that natural light was vital to vision development.

I do have to say that I am dismayed by the tone people are taking – she is a child, and I did say it wasn’t impacting school or anything else. I wasn’t denying her something she needs. I took her for an exam because she had a physical and got some letters wrong. That’s why asked the collective .

@rowenaz I played outside all the time when I was younger and it didn’t stop me from needing glasses. Granted, I didn’t actually wear them until I was about 30, much to the chagrin of many (including the Navy).

They tried “eye strengthening exercises” when I was young. When that failed, they tried to make me wear them when I was 6 and I refused. Same at 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 24, 27, and a few times in between. Until about age 25, I actually had 20/20 in one eye… close up. However, my distance vision (anything over about ten feet) in that eye was 20/40, and I couldn’t reliably recognize faces at 25 feet. I couldn’t sit more than halfway back in a theatre or classroom, and driving was only possible since you don’t need to actually spot details to see a 15-foot-long object, though I couldn’t read most road signs until I was almost ready to pass them.

Sunlight won’t help much if at all. At best, it will help them adapt well enough to be outside during the day without sunglasses, but it won’t make their eyes stronger nor will it keep them from degenerating over time.

As for our tone, I can’t speak for anyone else here, but I can tell you what my personal experience is, and my experience says that there is no way around glasses that is appropriate for a still-growing child; the only real way to eliminate a dependence on glasses are contact lenses or laser surgery. If her eyes are bad then they are bad, and I don’t see stuff that didn’t work for me or anyone else I know working for her.

Thanks @jerv

I got glasses with about the same exact prescription at around 12 years old, I never wore my glasses at all. It wasn’t until right around age 23 did they suddenly become slightly worse. I went from about at -0.75 to a -1.75. But I don’t think it had anything to do with not wearing glasses when I was younger.

From what I understand as well (note I am not an optometrist) your eyes change quite a bit when your younger, so this is why children cannot get Lasik for example; their eyes have not stabilized. That and I’m sure it’s probably very dangerous should a child get Lasik, but thats a different question.

I think bottom line, ask your optometrist what the best answer would be, they should be able to give some great advise on wearing, and not wearing your glasses.

@rowenaz I feel you did the right thing by getting your child the glasses. I am pretty sure that I will be in the same proverbial boat sooner than later. I am dreadfully nearsighted, as is my wife. From what I understand, myopia (nearsightedness) is hereditary. My four year old daughter will be needing glasses sooner than later. When her eyes were checked last year, we were told, that we needed to keep an eye on her vision. She has already developed a mild lazy eye. I will be scheduling her for an eye exam in April, per doctor’s recommendation. We will see what happens then. Honestly, I forsee my daughter being in glasses before she turns 10 based on what I already know.