My son’s school informed me that they are handing out eclipse glasses to all the students on Monday. My son is four, and autistic, with developmental delays in some areas. The school said they aren’t taking the special Ed kids outside but that they will be encouraged to wear their glasses on and off the bus.
My son loves outer space and is fascinated by the moon and sun. He even has a book about the sun that explains what an eclipse is. I think this could be a cool learning opportunity for him. I’m thinking of keeping him home that day to teach him about it and watch it together. But I am not sure of the potential safety issues the could be involved here. He does not grasp safety rules that well. I’m worried he’ll pull off the glasses or something. His eyes are very sensitive to light, he can’t walk outside on a moderately bright day without wearing sunglasses.
If it’s just too dangerous to chance it, is there any other way I could make the day meaningful?
According to my Googling, his next opportunity will be when he’s 24 years old. Seems like a terrible opportunity to waste.
we had a full eclips 1 or 2 years ago (where I was it was 96%) at noon.
the effects were very moderate … think a heavy thunderstorm with really black clouds rolling in (except: no clouds ;-)) … but by no means “nightfall”
So I see no real problem and danger … the auto-everything-compensation of our eyes/brain is truely an interesting phenomenon… eyes/brain really compensate a lot, here
Do you have the glasses already? Try them on him and see how he reacts. If he can’t control himself, there will be plenty opportunities to see it on TV.
Are you in the area of totality? You could lead him outside for 30 seconds or so during the peak and bring him back in to see the rest on TV.
FWIW my granddaughter is three and autistic. I don’t think she’s anywhere near being trusted to wear safety glasses of any kind.
Not quite totality, but close to it. If I keep him home I could take him outside at about 96% totality and say, “See how dark it is?” I guess. I’ve never seen an eclipse before.
It hadn’t occurred to me this might be on TV somewhere. Streaming, I hope.
It will be everywhere live on TV. I’m sure streaming too.
My DIL is taking 2, 3 yos, to a live outdoor viewing. Yeah. I’m concerned. There will be enough adults for each child to be handled. As they’re not into staring at the sky my concern maybe Nana just being fussy.
We’re close to the totality zone but they’re going into it for the day. Some cloud cover is predicted and I bet in reality their won’t be much of a view.
Your son isn’t too young with adult supervision even if it means you’ll not get a good look at the eclipse. Eyes are valuable. Don’t chance it.
Not without the glasses. Apparently the danger is that it is so dark that the pupils dilate . But because of the darkness, the total amount of light won’t cause you to shut your eyes but It’s not the total amount of light that causes the damage, it’s the intensity.
No way would I take a four year old outside during an eclipse - I wouldn’t trust them to keep the glasses on and no way do I want to risk permanent damage if they are fast enough to get the glasses off before I can stop it.
I’m sure it will be streaming somewhere but an alternative might be to fit a phone with eclipse glasses and film it. (apparently, without the filter the phone camera will be damaged.)
It’s not dangerous to be outside w/o eclipse glasses on a normal sunny day; the sun is so bright then that you can’t look at it but looking anywhere else doesn’t hurt you. The danger w/ an eclipse is it still has the intensity but not the brightness so it could damage your eyes if you look directly at the sun. You say he’s used to wearing glasses & you don’t need to be out in it with him all that long. It’ll sacrifice your viewing experience but could you take him out for just a couple of minutes & watch him to ensure he keeps those glasses on?
Try a dry run this weekend when the sun is at normal intensity to see if he’ll keep them on.
This sounds dangerous. As in, they’re supposed to wear them while riding and while boarding/disembarking? I wouldn’t want my kid trying to get on or off a bus while blindfolded. Which, effectively, you are, when wearing eclipse glasses.
He’d be far safer without the glasses. You only need eclipse glasses for looking directly at the Sun. When you’re not wearing them, you just… don’t do that.
This is why our schools are closed. Kids can’t be responsible for this. An adult needs to be with each young kid.
Hell, there are adults I wouldn’t trust out in it.
This is my concern. And my son hates things on his face. We were only able to get him to wear sunglasses when we took him outside, he stood there flailing in the brightness, and then we put them on, and he could actually see the difference. You can’t just tell him, “You’ll be able to see better if you put on your sunglasses.” You have to show him before he will listen. So yeah I’m thinking he’s not able to do this safely.
Now I’m wondering if I should send him to school at all that day.
@Spice_Weasel I took all my kids, including my daughter, who was very obviously on the autism spectrum, to see the 2017 (?) eclipse in Oregon. She was 13. I was watching her like a hawk the entire time but she was fine.
As a parent, I would keep the little Weasel home. If you want to be really safe. Take him outside maybe a couple of minutes before totality wearing glasses. Let him watch the moon “eat” the sun, take off the glasses for a minute, and then glasses back on (or back inside). Have a blanket handy if he become obstreperous and you’re worried that it’s not working for him.
You can both enjoy the experience, and he may find it really neato. And you won’t have to worry about him at school, and the caregivers there inadvertently allowing some kind of horrible accident.
I am not a doctor, but as I understand it, The real danger is that the iris opens up as it gets dark, and then one repeatedly stares at the emerging sun. You’re there to avoid such a scenario.
Again, you do not want to keep the glasses on. With the glasses on, you’re blind. You only use the glasses when looking directly at the Sun. If your kid won’t keep the glasses on, that’s because he’s a sensible, intelligent person.
FYI, as a totality veteran: At about 97%, the world seems to go from color, to B&W, and then back. That was something I hadn’t expected.
NBC is planning to do a live 2-hour special from 1 to 3PM, Central time, on Monday. There will also be oodles of livestreams.
Autistic or not, you would know whether your 4-year-old could handle the glasses. I’d recommend supervising him closely if he goes outside, but that goes without saying.
Here’s how to watch the eclipse live from the comfort of your home. This was just a quick search, I’m sure there are other sites and channels.
YouTube
NASA+
Facebook
Twitch
NBC, NBC News Now
CNN
Fox Weather
University of Maine high-altitude balloon livestream
As an added bonus, one way or another someone will be showing every minute of the eclipse from the time it enters southern Texas to the time it exits Maine. At that point you can watch it live on CBC-TV, CBC Gem, CBC News Network, CBC News Explore, the CBC News app and CBCNews.ca, not to mention the CBC Tik-Tok account.