# Should a 5 year old get to pick out his own glasses? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 11, 2008, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670 "2008-12-11T03:31:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/61 "2008-12-16T01:54:37Z")
Oh, those are great! He will be the envy of his class. They are practically SpiderMan glasses! ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/62 "2008-12-16T02:36:12Z")
> [@CAT\_1](#): > > [The new glasses.](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/CATinWI/glasses_net.jpg) > > [The new glasses take 2.](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/CATinWI/glasses1_net.jpg) He is TOO CUTE. I LOVE his choice of glasses! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/63 "2008-12-16T02:50:28Z")
One word: aaawwwww… ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/64 "2008-12-16T13:00:57Z")
_applause_ Thanks for sharing! He looks wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/65 "2008-12-16T13:12:10Z")
Oh, those are awesome! Mom, they may or may not fit his wardrobe, but they sure do fit his _personality_! I think they’re a great choice. ---
**Author:** ![PharmBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/74df32/32.png) [@PharmBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PharmBoy)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/66 "2008-12-16T20:33:58Z")
Give him a choice, but it doesn’t have to be all of the frames in the store. The real issue is power; your son wants to exercise some control. This is healthy, and the way to do it is pick 5 frames (any one of which are reasonable to you) and then let him decide which of the 5 he wants to get. It’s win/win: he gets to be a big boy and make a decision, and you get to exercise parental control, which is also good. In my experience with my kids, this works out well in all sorts of situations involving choices. ---
**Author:** ![CAT\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@CAT\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CAT_1)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/67 "2008-12-16T20:49:34Z")
> [@PharmBoy](#): > > Give him a choice, but it doesn’t have to be all of the frames in the store. The real issue is power; your son wants to exercise some control. This is healthy, and the way to do it is pick 5 frames (any one of which are reasonable to you) and then let him decide which of the 5 he wants to get. It’s win/win: he gets to be a big boy and make a decision, and you get to exercise parental control, which is also good. > > In my experience with my kids, this works out well in all sorts of situations involving choices. Oh trust me, this is exactly what I wanted to do. I just wasn’t fast enough to intercept the Dr. and my husband who ushered my son right from the exam room to the display area in front of at least 50 different frames. I would have thought the Dr. would have known better, and even told him and his assistant that maybe next time we should pick out a few frames before my son got to pick his favorite. But all in all I guessed it worked out OK. I have always found that technique works very well, and have been using it ever since my first Nanny job nearly 20 years ago. Mr. Cat is learning all of this on the spot, so I can’t blame him too much. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/68 "2008-12-16T21:03:57Z")
Very, very cute! I love them! ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/69 "2008-12-17T00:06:35Z")
Preschool teacher here. Let him pick whatever he wants. If he likes it, he’s likely to wear them when you want him to. Kids don’t have fashion sense and don’t see things as parts as a whole. The other kids will like his red glasses regardless of what color his shoes are. Secondly, if you tell him that red glasses look silly, guess what he’s going to say to his classmate with red glasses. Saying “Kids laugh at kids with red glasses” translates to him as “I should laugh at red glasses” and it might not stop there. Lastly, you should see some of the wild things kids are allowed to do at this age. Mohawks and mullets are common in my classrooms along with wearing the most ridiculously mismatched things. It’s expected that kids are allowed to break the fashion rules at this age and they’re proud to be sporting these looks. It’s not going to injure his health, so let him do what he wants. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/70 "2008-12-17T03:29:47Z")
My mum would’ve said “ONLY black goes with everything, you have to get black.” ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/71 "2008-12-17T07:33:20Z")
A star is born. He looks fabulous. ---
**Author:** ![CAT\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@CAT\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CAT_1)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/72 "2008-12-17T08:29:22Z")
Thanks for the input and the compliments everyone. I don’t know any parent who doesn’t like to hear how cute their kid is. I am no exception. I guess we will keep him. Plus he is just a ton of fun. Tonight he “turned” himself invisible, and I got to pretend not to see him for an hour. What is more fun that that?! I wish I could turn myself invisible for an hour. \*\* And of course we are giving him lots of positive encouragement, and telling him how handsome he will be in his new glasses. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/73 "2008-12-17T08:43:07Z")
When I was eight and got glasses, I hated the ones my parents picked out. I broke them shortly after that. They let me pick out the second pair, and I loved them, because the frames had blue and green in them. If they ended up looking bad, my eyes changed enough and I did enough damage to need a new pair every year or so. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/74 "2008-12-17T13:13:59Z")
> [@CAT\_1](#): > > We ordered the glasses tonight, and I took a few pictures. They still have the sticker on, so there is some glare. > By the way, we do not tell him to pose like this. In fact I asked him to put his hands down about 5 times, but he wouldn’t. He is such a character. > And, he just took off his stocking cap, so please excuse the hat head. It is 1 degree in Wisconsin right now. Brrr I hate when you can’t even add an “s” on the word degree!! > > [The new glasses.](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/CATinWI/glasses_net.jpg) > > [The new glasses take 2.](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/CATinWI/glasses1_net.jpg) Had I known what he looked like I [definitely would have recommended these glasses instead](http://www.buffyholt.com/blog/wp-content/christmas_story.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/75 "2008-12-17T15:20:25Z")
If “A Christmas Story” were remade today, I think those are the kind of glasses Ralphie would be wearing. 😃 Will he have them in time for Christmas? ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/76 "2008-12-17T15:33:53Z")
Those glasses are really cool and I think your son (and you) made a fantastic choice. My 5 year old son would be falling over with envy if he saw those - his favorite color is red and, as is the case with most kids that age, he’s drawn to bright, zany fashion choices, too. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670/77 "2008-12-17T19:00:05Z")
Since he will outgrow them by next year, give in.😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-a-5-year-old-get-to-pick-out-his-own-glasses/476670.md?page=3)