We’ve blogged about the way kids cope with getting their first artificial eyes, and then with subsequent visits for adjustments, new fittings and cleaning. Some kids don’t know what all the fuss is about, while others test everyone’s skills in distraction and reducing anxiety. And we’ve described the tricks we use in these latter situations.
Another thing we’re confronted with when dealing with kids is getting a good look at their eyes to check movement and colour. With adults, this is easy; we just ask them to look left, right, up and down, or straight ahead. But kids have a short attention span and can’t sit still long enough to comply with these instructions. Not even the toys in our enticing toy box, nor our attempts to hold their attention by jumping around, clapping our hands is enough to keep them still and focused while we study their eyes.
So we’ve come up with a great solution – blowing bubbles. Remember the fascinating party trick of dipping a plastic or wire hoop into a bowl of sudsy water and blowing gently until a perfect bubble magically appears? Well, this is exactly what we do in our office when we want to study a child’s eye. Kids are entranced by the bubbles, watching them as they hover in the air and slowly float around. They try to catch them, all the time keeping their eyes on the target. This game keeps them entertained long enough for us to do our work.
A mother came in with her 2-year-old daughter recently and we played the bubble game to study her daughter’s eye movement. After a while, the mother worked out what we were doing. Initially, she thought we were just entertaining her daughter!
If you want to get a perfect photo of your child’s eye, try blowing bubbles. Your child will be transfixed, following the bubbles as they waft upwards, providing you with a clear shot of open eyes and a happy face.
One Response
That is a really interesting technique Jenny. I’ll try the photo suggestion.