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How Many Parents Opt for Lens Treatments for Their Children?

Many parents still don’t think it’s worthwhile to invest in lens treatments such as anti-reflective coating, scratch resistant protection and photochromatic lenses, according to findings from The Vision Council VisionWatch 2012 Parent-Child Vision Care Report. Only 18.70 percent of parents opted to include AR in their child’s lenses; 48.70 percent decided to include scratch resistance; and 12.61 percent decided to make the lenses photochromatic.

It is important for us as primary care providers to make sure we are handling the needs of all of our patients effectively and efficiently. Here are resources to make sure you are helping parents receive the information and education needed to care for their children.

Start with the quick and easy course offered by 20/20 Magazine called The Care and Feeding of Parents, Now That Their Child Needs Glasses.

The behavioral objectives of this course are identified as: Upon completion of this course, the participant should be able to …
1. Understand the role of the parent as the gatekeeper to children’s eyecare.
2. Learn the importance of educating the parent on critical lens attributes for children.
3. Understand the initial biases and expectations of parents about their children’s eyewear, and the role of the optician in the eyewear buying process.
4. Learn techniques to present eyewear care and compliance instructions to parents and children.

Click HERE to have access to this course.

A Google search of “parents buying children eyewear” turned up additional resources. Here are a some web sites that provide useful information about children’s eyewear. Review these web sites and then come up with a plan to use what you’ve learned in your practice.

Click HERE for 8 Practical Tips for Parents of Kids Who Need Glasses.

This article offers the following advice to parents:

1. Be realistic. Kids aren’t well practiced in the art of caring for fragile items. Glasses can get lost, broken, scratched or warped so keep these inevitable conditions in mind when purchasing eyewear for your kids.
2. Select eyeware based on fit and function
3. Remain sensitive to your child’s transition. Suddenly showing up at school in glasses is a big adjustment for any kid. Allowing your child to participate in the frame selection may help ease her anxiety. Talk openly with your child about her fears and concerns and remain patient throughout her transition.
4. Educate your child on the proper cleaning and handling of eyewear. Be sure to reinforce that glasses belong in their protective case unless being worn.
5. Practice eyewear removal. Remind your child that glasses should always be removed straight off the face with two hands.
6. Keep a spare pair. If your child is dependent on glasses, keep a less expensive spare pair in the event of lost or damaged glasses. Eyewear can take a week or longer to replace and that’s a long time to wait for clear vision.
7. Discuss your child’s vision with her teacher.
8. ID the glasses so if they are lost they can be returned. Print the name and phone number inside the glasses case.

Another helpful web site to review is All About Vision’s 10 Tips for Buying Kids’ Eyewear

Eyesite has a helpful web site titled Tips for Parents on Buying Children’s Eyeglasses

This web site highlights topics such as:
• Trendy Glasses Are Making Children More Comfortable with Eyeglasses
• What Can You Look For to Keep the Glasses From Falling Off Your Child’s Face
• Which Lens Material is Best for Scratch-Resistance?

Now that you’ve explored these resources, it’s time for action. Take these two powerful steps this week in your practice.

1. Review your practice management software reports about what is being prescribed in your practice for children. Compare your results to the findings from The Vision Council VisionWatch 2012 Parent-Child Vision Care Report. Create a plan to improve the numbers.

2. Walk through your practice as a parent. Is there marketing information prominently displayed giving advice to parents buying eyewear for their children? Pre-setting patients to purchase is one of the most powerful things you can do in your practice to help patients get the care they need. Use the resources in this article to either make or improve your internal marketing messages to parents.

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