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Expert Q&A
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| By Harriet S. Worobey, M.A. Early Childhood Educator Director, the Nutritional Sciences Preschool | ||
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I am a teacher of 3-year-olds. I have a little girl in the class who has just found out she has to wear glasses permanently. What is the best way to deal with this situation? She is happy to wear them at home but I am unsure how the children will react and indeed the child herself. Do you have any pointers?
I have always found this extremely easy because I wear glasses myself. And what preschooler doesn't want to be like his/her teacher?! In the event that you don't have a handy role model in your school, I would suggest that you be sure to include pictures of children wearing glasses in the posters and pictures displayed in the classrooms. Another thing that really helps these days is that the glasses for children are so cute and look terrific on them. Be sure that she gets plenty of praise from the teachers and also that you explain how much better she will be able to see to all of the other children in the class.
Young children certainly notice differences (be they glasses, hair color, skin color, etc.), but noticing doesn't mean that they are being mean or making fun of someone. They are just very curious and may ask questions in a way that can make an adult uncomfortable. Try to anticipate this by remarking on the change yourself. Just be matter of fact: "Wow, isn't it nice that Suzie has these cute new glasses that are going to help her to see better!" If things don't go as well as anticipated, be sure to touch base with her parents as soon as possible.
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