Parents Wearing Glasses During Practice

[MBJ974]

My dd (7 y.o. level 4) has been wearing glasses to school now for about a year. Lately, she has said to me that it is hard for her to see the coaches when they are giving instructions (especially vault) because she doesn't wear her glasses to gymnastics. She never had to wear her glasses before for physical activity, but I think it's time.

She is very hesitant to be "the only one" in the gym wearing glasses. Trying to warm her up to the notion, we were online last night looking at kids retainer straps for her glasses and there are so many to choose from. Are there any parents out there that have kids that wear glasses to gymnastics? What is the best type of retainer strap to wear? Any tips on how to help her get through this?

 

[bogwoppit]

Mine always wore glasses, up to about L6. Best are lightweight frames and lenses. We used a sport band.

 

[LizzieLac]

None of our girls wear glassed for practice. A few I know do practice without glasses. My DD started wearing contacts when she was about 10. Seven seems a little young but it might be worth checking into.

 

[txgymfan]

If you look on Youtube for videos of Kamerin (Kami) Moore was an elite that used to wear glasses during competitions.

 

[gymdog]

I would look into flexible frames like these: http://www.miraflex.info/products.htm

 

[Deleted member 15064]

we have several young girls who wear glasses outside the gym. one of them recently started to wear them to practice. they are sports glasses - curved to her head. they look a bit like goggles. they are amazingly cool looking & i made sure my daughter complimented her on them.

i wanted to point out that now that she is wearing them to train, she is having a small adjustment period. she can see everything much more clearly. example: on her approach to the vault table she can see every detail of it in front of her as she approaches and says it's making her rethink it.

in the long run, being able to see your coaches etc... seems like the right way to go.

 

[gymdog]

Visual feedback is definitely extremely important and glasses can cause some differences between frontal and peripheral vision or seeing under the glasses. Many gymnasts move to contacts early but of course it's often necessary to use glasses for several years before that. So I believe the kind you describe is the best. But of course any change like that can cause an adjustment period in balance, etc.

 

[Dr Maleficent]

A couple of the boys in my ds's gym wear glasses during practice and competitions, and win lots of competitions so it doesn't seem to be causing them any problems. My ds has been told to wear glasses for seeing the blackboard at school, and the ophthalmologist said that he could try contacts straight away if he wanted to. So far he hasn't as he says he sees fine in gym, but we have them ready just in case.

 

[Gymboymum]

One of the boys in my sons gym wears sports goggles that are fitted with prescription lenses. Also one of my other sons class mates wears the same type of goggles for football. The lenses are safety lenses.
They look a bit like these - http://www.uksportseyewear.co.uk/product.php/327/kids-sports-goggles

 

[dynamicduo]

My DD started wearing glasses last year (at the age of 8) after her physical came back saying she was blind in 1 eye!! Whoops! She never told us! Her eye Dr. said she had to wear glasses at all times except for bed. We have "peeper keepers" that we got from amazon and they have so many different colors! Hers actually match her competition leotard and I just pin the straps into her circle braid! She has never had an issue wearing them for gym or competition! Also, she is the only one on the girls team who wears glasses and it doesn't seem to bother her! Actually I think the coaches and teammates like it because she is an identical twin so everyone can tell them apart easily at gym now! lol

 

[mylittlemiss]

Our Little Miss wears glasses to practice now and always has. She's 8 and has been in gym since age 2. We just use a basic adjustable strap you can buy at most any drug store. It's thin, black and adjusts like a bra strap, so it fits just right. It fits snug next to her head/neck area and never seems to bother her. I personally don't care for the colors, since I don't like how they show so much. With the black one we use, it's very discreet. However, we've known others who love the fun of having matching glasses straps that match each leo!

 

[mylittlemiss]

I should also mention that Little Miss is training level 6/7 and her glasses stay on extremely well with our basic strap, which we've used for years and really only have had to replace when it gets too chalky and kinda stretched out, lol. Actually, in a pinch, on a few occasions, when she's forgotten to grab her strap, the coaches have used pre-wrap to make a strap of sorts and it's worked quite well!

 

[Seeker]

My DD moved into contacts at 9....it became necessary especially for vault. I have seen lots of girls with straps though, so hopefully they will work for her.

 

[Guenhwyvar132]

I moved into contacts around the age of 8 when I was a gymnast. It was easier than squinting all the time with my glasses off. I'd recommend trying to find some that are more like the goggles others have suggested. I love glasses but if they aren't very durable the could definitely break or hurt in a fall, though less likely with straps on

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

My daughter has worn glasses since she was three. So until very recently she doesn't know gym without her glasses. We never thought about sending her without them at the beginning. As time went on, it was NEVER an issue (either from a social perspective with other kids, or from a physical/safety perspective as they never came off even without a strap), but we worried about it more and more. She has worn them to gym for the last 4 years. This is the first year we've switched her to contacts (within the last month, and at the coach's request) as she is starting to do far more complicated things (she is equiv. to say L8) and the other issue was that she was starting to fog up, and couldn't see!

I would never have thought to move her to contacts yet (she is 9) but the coach was concerned that as she starts to learn/work on even more serious things, it is starting to get risky. I trust her coach completely, so we were into the eye doc within a week. It has taken her several weeks to get used to them, but she wore them to practise every day for two weeks before her first meet, and she was fine. Now she never wants to wear her glasses

 

[seoulmama]

there is a girl at my dd's gym who wears glasses and she got sports goggles-they look way cool! She doesn't wear them to compete in.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

One of the girls on dds team wears her glasses at practice. My dd wants to, but I refuse to let her wear her new glasses after finding a broken pair on the floor.... She can wear her old pair with an elastic cord thingie but most of the time she doesn't. She squints and well look into contacts next time our insurance allows new stuff.

 

[MBJ974]

Thank you for all of the replies! Many of you have shed some light on options I never thought would be possible!!!

 

[J&A's mom]

My youngest wears glasses for. Vault. He was stutter stepping before the springboard and I told him I wanted him to try. It helped a great deal! We have a pair for gym(his old ones) and a pair for the rest of the time. So far it's working great. Don't know how competitions will go, especially when vault is in the middle of the six events. He has a strap that is a child size that we got from Walmart. Much better for him than the $400 I would have spent on sport goggles.

 

[Granny Smith]

My dd went directly to contacts, at age 8. Up to that point she didn't wear her glasses in the gym (she had glasses since age 4 though). The doctor told us not to worry about her wearing glasses. When we changed doctors and the new doctor heard that she didn't wear anything, she just about flipped. She said that kid is basically blind and needs to have something on - that's when we went to contacts for sports. I, personally, would not allow my dd to wear glasses in the gym. I just think of all the things that could go wrong if she were to crash into any of the equipment. Sadly, I am a glass half empty thinker. Would any of it actually happen, probably not, but I wasn't going to be the one to deal with it.