September 15, 2025
By Ashley Tucker, OD, FAAO, FSLS, ABO Diplomate
Recently, the mother of a 7-year-old patient sat across from me in the exam room, worry written across her face. After listening carefully to my explanation of myopia and the management options, she paused and asked: “What would you do if this were your child?”
It’s a simple question, but one that carries enormous weight. Parents ask this not because they need statistics or technical explanations, but because they want reassurance that the decisions they make for their child are the same ones we would make for our own. Their questions reveal not only what they want to know but also what they need to feel confident moving forward.
The Fear Behind the Numbers
Parents rarely ask about refractive error specifics. Instead, the heart of their worry is, “How bad will it get?” They want to know if today’s prescription will snowball into something unmanageable. Research confirms what we see in practice: earlier onset leads to higher risk of progression and complications.1 Yet this is where our role as educators becomes vital. By explaining that interventions can significantly slow progression, we replace anxiety with trust and hope.
“Why Haven’t I Heard About This Before?”
This is one of the most common and most uncomfortable questions to answer. Parents often express surprise—and sometimes frustration—that myopia management wasn’t brought up at the pediatrician’s office, at their previous optometrist’s office, or even when they were children themselves. Their disbelief underscores the need for stronger public health messaging and more unified communication among health care providers. For optometry, it is both a challenge and an opportunity to lead the conversation and advocate for early intervention.
Practical Life Questions
Beyond the clinical details, parents are most concerned with how treatment fits into their child’s life. Can their child swim with contact lenses? Will atropine sting or blur vision? Will wearing specialty lenses interfere with school or sports? These questions remind us that myopia management is not simply about slowing axial growth. It is about crafting a treatment plan that integrates seamlessly into a child’s routines and fosters long-term adherence.
Safety First
For most parents, safety eclipses every other concern. Whether considering orthokeratology, soft contact lenses, or low-dose atropine, parents want assurance that their child will be safe. This is where evidence and experience matter. We can confidently share the strong safety profiles demonstrated in clinical trials, while also emphasizing the importance of hygiene, compliance and follow-up care. In these conversations, reassurance is often as valuable as statistics.
The Cost Question
Finally, parents inevitably ask: “How much will this cost?” It is both a practical and emotional question. While transparency is essential, framing myopia management as an investment rather than an expense is equally important. The value lies not only in slowing progression today but in reducing risks of high myopia and associated pathologies tomorrow. Parents appreciate when we connect cost to long-term vision, eye health and quality of life.
Parents’ questions shape the way we deliver care. They expose knowledge gaps, but they also create opportunities for connection, reassurance and education. The more we listen to what parents really want to know, the more trust we build, and the more impact we can have on the future of children’s vision.
References
1 Bullimore MA, Brennan NA. Myopia control: Why each diopter matters. Optom Vis Sci. 2019;96(6):463–465.
