In India children and parents of children specially the girls hesitate when it comes to the usage of spectacles.Wearing Spectacles can be a hard idea to get used to at first. Childrens might worry that the other kids will tease them. They might feel different. Some children don’t like wearing spectacles and they ‘forget’ to put them on or ‘forget’ to take them to School. Some children just hate the thought of wearing spectacles
They think that people will tease them, they won’t be able to play sports, boys/girls won’t like them, they’ll look ugly and a whole heap of other things. Lots of children do wear spectacles and they have gone through those feelings and worked out that when they wear their glasses they can see so much better that it really is worthwhile.
Uncorrected Refractive Error remains the largest cause of moderate and severe visual impairment (World Health Organization). 12 million children are visually impaired due to refractive errors, a condition that could be easily diagnosed and corrected with a simple pair of spectacles. Children are often teased by peers in schools for wearing spectacles (chashmish etc). This acts as a barrier for us to treat/correct refractive error among children and girls/young women.
Many parents will tell you that once your child realizes that they see better with their spectacles, they’ll be much more likely to leave them on, and even ask for them first thing in the morning. And that’s true, but the trick is getting through that initial stage when they don’t want these things on their face. Every child is different, some will take to their spectacles immediately, while others fight tooth and nail for months.
While there are a lot of strategies to get a child to put their spectacles on, the key seems to be to stay calm and positive and consistent about keeping them on . When any child takes them off, put them back on with a smile, but don’t make a big deal about it. If they are really fighting or upset, set the spectacles to the side for a few minutes until that child calms down and try again. You’ll also want to have activities on hand when you put those glasses on. Boredom and glasses do not mix
On 13th November Orbis International (NGO working towards preventing blindness among children) in association with Vision 2020 The Right to Sight – INDIA brought one of a kind Raahgiri at the heart of Delhi – Connaught Place from 6:00AM to 9:00AM just to make everyone realize that #SpectaclesAreBeautiful.There were many fun and interesting activities for the children like Walkathon,colorful photo booth, selfie zone and funky glasses which attracted everyone.Globally 12 million children under the age of 15 have uncorrected refractive errors while they can be easily corrected with a pair of spectacles.Often when children have difficulty in seeing clearly ,they might lag behind in the classroom and can also be labelled as poor performers.Thats why Orbis has brought forth the REACH (Refractive Error Among Children ) program-under the Qatar Creating Vision initiative supported by Qatar Fund for Development.The best part is REACH aims to reach over 3 million children in 3 years.Join their Campaign and be part of the initiative at https://www.facebook.com/orbis.in/ or www.orbis.org.
Its time for everyone including childrens to look after their eyes and get them checked at regular intervals.All of us might need to wear spectacles at some time in our lives. They help us to get a clear picture of our world. Wearing Spectacles always makes everyone look more smarter. It also protect the eyes from dust, small flying insects and sudden gusts of wind and anyone can even simultaneously change their spectacle frames to try on new looks, new colors and new trends as well..It always works. Most importantly people who wear spectacles tend to understand the value of sight and it makes them wonder how blind people manage.
