What to Expect in This Article:
- Baby Keeps Pulling Glasses Off: Setting the Scene
- Making Glasses Part of Your Routine
- Using a Security Strap
- Getting the Glasses to Fit
- Distraction and Redirection
- Positive Reinforcement
- Choosing the Right Frames
- Consistency
- Pretend Play
My Baby Keeps Pulling Her Glasses Off
Once we got past the initial shock of our baby needing glasses (read about our diagnosis journey here), the next challenge was figuring out how to keep them on her face. If you’ve ever searched “how to get baby to wear glasses” or “my baby keeps pulling off glasses”—girl, same.
When my daughter was first diagnosed with vision problems at 6 months old, she actually did pretty well with her glasses. She was so young that they didn’t bother her much. But around 12-13 months? That changed real fast.
She realized she could take them off — and suddenly, they were off her face more than they were on it. She’d yank them off, toss them, pull them down — you name it. I wondered if maybe they were given her problems or if there were ways we could prevent the constant pulling-off-of-glasses.
After lots of trial and error (and yes, a few tears), here are the methods that actually worked for us and/or might work for you:
1. Make Glasses Part of Your Daily Routine
Consistency was our secret weapon. Just like we wouldn’t ask if she wanted to wear clothes or a diaper, we never made glasses seem optional. They became a non-negotiable part of getting ready for the day.
Our morning glasses routine looked like this:
- Wake up
- Slip on glasses
- Immediately draw attention to something else (going to the kitchen, playing with toys, getting milk etc.)
By sticking to this routine religiously, wearing glasses pretty quickly became just another normal part of her day. There was no need to draw extra attention to them or make a huge deal about wearing them because we wanted them to become her new normal!
2. Use a Baby Glasses Strap
I never put much thought into giving her frames without a strap because, honestly, it just made a lot of sense to use one from the get-go. I mean, she was six months old and definitely could not be reasoned with at that point, so the strap seemed like a given. But when we finally tried one of those soft elastic straps that attach to the ear pieces, it was obvious that we made the right choice.
The strap helped keep her Bub frames secure without being too tight. While she could still remove them if she really wanted to, the strap made it just difficult enough that she often gave up and forgot about the glasses altogether.
3. Get the Fit Just Right
We had to do some adjusting to get her glasses to sit correctly on her face. At one point, they were sliding down her nose constantly or leaving little red marks behind. They were even pushing down really hard on her ears at some point. It looked extremely uncomfortable.
When they don’t fit well, your baby will be more likely to rip them off. If something feels off—trust your gut and go in for an adjustment, or play around with the strap/ear grips a bit. Our optician was super understanding and always happy to help if we needed any adjustments.
Signs the fit needs adjusting:
- Constant sliding down the nose
- Red marks on the nose or behind the ears
- Your baby seems more irritated when wearing them
- They tilt their head to see through them properly
4. Use Distraction and Redirection
To this day, I still have a habit of distracting my daughter immediately after I put her glasses on. I’ll hand her a toy, get her a snack, tell her to go find her dad, etc. Although she definitely doesn’t need it anymore, it has become a very useful trick to have up my sleeve.
Really, any time she’d go to pull them off, I’d quickly hand her a toy, offer a snack, or start a silly song. Anything to interrupt the glasses-pulling pattern.
This worked especially well between 12-18 months when her attention could be easily diverted. The key was catching her before the glasses came all the way off.
5. Try Positive Reinforcement
This definitely won’t work for every kid. Sometimes, reminding them that the glasses are on their face makes them want to pull them off. However, if you believe your kid does well with positive reinforcement, feel free to give it a go!
To use this strategy, once your child has kept his/her glasses on for a while, you can cheer, clap, or give him/her a little treat. Even babies love a good round of applause!
As they get older, you could explain more: “Great job keeping your glasses on! They help you see mommy better!” The positive association can help decrease the removal attempts!
6. Choose the Right Frames
In our experience with both the Bub Taz 37 and later the Bub Pluto 38 FlexFrames, we found that the right frame makes all the difference. The built-up bridge was essential for her tiny nose, and the flexible material withstood her grabby little hands. If you’re able, I recommend putting your baby in different frames before ordering, this would prevent a lot of potential issues with fitting.
What worked best for us:
- Flexible material that can handle being bent
- Properly sized frames that don’t slide down (can be fixed with ear grips)
- Wrap-around earpieces that provide extra security
- Lightweight design so they don’t feel heavy on tiny faces
7. Be Calm and Consistent When Replacing Them
When she did take them off, we’d calmly put them back on without making a big deal of it. No sighing, no frustration (at least not visibly!), just a matter-of-fact “Glasses help you see” and back they went.
Sometimes I’d have to replace them 20+ times a day. It was exhausting, but the consistency eventually paid off.
8. Make Glasses Fun with Pretend Play
As she got a little older (around 15-18 months), we started incorporating glasses into playtime. Her dolls and stuffed animals “wore glasses” too. We’d talk about how glasses help us see all the beautiful colors and details in books.
If you want to DIY glasses for your baby’s stuffies, just use a pipe cleaner to whip up some quick frames!
This helped normalize glasses as something positive rather than something to fight against.
It Does Get Easier!
Eventually, she grew out of the glasses-yanking phase. Now that she’s almost two, she actually wants to wear her glasses because she’s realized they help her see better. And that’s a huge win for us.
The most challenging period was from about 12-18 months, right when babies are testing boundaries and discovering cause and effect. By around 20 months, she had mostly stopped pulling them off regularly. She’s now almost 2, and she can adjust them herself!
If you’re in the thick of it, just know it gets easier. Keep showing up. Keep trying. You and your little one are likely doing better than you think.
Remember that by helping your baby wear their glasses consistently now, you’re setting them up for better vision development. All those moments of frustration are absolutely worth it when you see them thriving with their improved vision!
Want to know more about our baby glasses journey? Check out the story of how we figured out our baby needed glasses at 6 months old!
