Indestructible Glasses for Preschooler

[greenmonkey1]

Any recommendations for indestructible glasses frames for my 3-year old?  Just came back from the eye doctor and he is farsighted in both eyes.  I have heard of miraflex in passing, but that is the extent of my knowledge.  Neither my husband nor I wear glasses so this is very new to me.

Also, anyone have recommendations for saving money on kid's glasses?  Or ways not to overspend?  I do not care much about what they look or name brand, I just want a pair DS2 will wear that correct his eyesight.  Since this is so new to me I do not want to get hosed on cost because of my lack of knowledge.

[twinmomma]

My kids both wear Miraflex, started when they were 4. They're awesomely indestructible! I highly recommend them. The eye doctor told us not to even consider anything else. Two other kids in their daycare class last year also wore them and those moms swear by them too. Their kids had been wearing them for a year or so already when my kids got them, so I took their advice. The band that wraps around the back is really great too. Without that, my kids would be constantly taking them on and off. It is removable too.

With our eye insurance, they weren't very expensive. I want to say something like $80 per kid, including the lenses.

One thing to keep in mind on cost is what happens with lens changes. About 3 months after getting the glasses, we had to go back for a follow up eye exam so that they could tweak the prescription. So we had to get new lenses just a couple months in, but the cost was covered for us based on how our eye doctor billed it. So I'd ask what your eye doctor's process is for that.

[ilovelucyvv]

My DD has worn the same Miraflex frames since she was 1. She is 4 plus a couple of months now, so they are that indestructible. She has been through several prescription changes with the same frames.  To build on what twinmomma  was saying, the real cost is the lenses. My DD's lenses also scratch really easily compared to my adult lenses, so we would be coming back to the store replace the lenses every couple of months (within the first year the lenses we got were replaceable for free).

The "Little Four Eyes" group on Facebook has recommendations for cheaper places to order glasses online, but I probably wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely sure somehow that the glasses I ordered online would fit my DD's face and I would want to be able to replace the lenses the same way I do now, which I'm not sure how that would work.

[2chatter]

As the kids get older and you choose new frames - make sure that they cover replacements for breakage. DD had a Vera Bradley pair that broke a ton and it was always free. They rushed the orders too.

[greenmonkey1]

2chatter, twinmomma, ilovelucyvv, Thank you for your responses. Clearly I am clueless - not even sure what are the correct words to use. I do not know anyone irl whose small human wears glasses so I am feeling on my own.

Ok - breakage replacement, scratch free lens (if it exists), and how new prescriptions are handled in a short period of time (we do have a follow up in 10 weeks). Presumably these offerings are different by eye store?

[twinmomma]

Sept 11, 2017 20:40:21 GMT -5 greenmonkey1 said:

2chatter, twinmomma, ilovelucyvv, Thank you for your responses. Clearly I am clueless - not even sure what are the correct words to use. I do not know anyone irl whose small human wears glasses so I am feeling on my own.

Ok - breakage replacement, scratch free lens (if it exists), and how new prescriptions are handled in a short period of time (we do have a follow up in 10 weeks). Presumably these offerings are different by eye store?

Are you able to just order through the eye doctor? I wore glasses for 20+ years and really only ever ordered them from my opthamologist. I never messed around with places like Lens Crafters. I think the slight cost increase was worth the more personal service. But, I'd start by checking out what's covered by your insurance - some only offer discounts at specific places or for specific tiers of lenses.

[greenmonkey1]

twinmomma The boys' eye doctor is with the hospital system and I do not think the optic center carries miraflex. I am not sure, however, if the optic center is affiliated with the eye center or just happens to be in the building. The way the eye tech was talking I am pretty sure they are not connected. I am ok paying a little more for the glasses with the hope they will last longer/be safer. We live in the HCOL side of a MCOL town so I am trying to find an optic center that does not skew towards the high end, designer clientele. Nothing wrong with that, but I am looking for a three year old. I think I am going to go with the higher end place near me (assuming they are not completely spendy and have some sort of breakage package) at least initially. My local mom group said they are great with kids and have excellent customer service.

Unfortunately we do not have vision insurance so this will just all go against our deductible. We'll be looking at vision for next year though!

Thank you!