Abracadabra! What You Would Magically Make Kids Stop Doing in Your Business

If you could magically make all the kids who walk through your doors stop doing just one thing, what would it be?

• Take off their headphones! James D. Hagen, OD, Hagen Eyecare, Miami, FL
• Texting during exams.  — Kimberly Riggs OD, Ligonier, PA
• Touching the phoropter! I get it. It’s the coolest looking thing in the room (besides me).  — Sarah Jerome, OD, Look+See Eye Care, Minneapolis, MN
• Messing with the arm rests on the exam chairs. They find the seam of the material and just pick, pick, pick at them. Come to think of it most of the adults do it too.  — Ted McElroy, OD, Vision Source Tifton, Tifton, GA
• Being little B-holes.  — Susan Frein, Ames Eye Care, Ankeny, IA
• A haiku: Stop touching frames with viscous little fingers. I blame the parents.  — Angel Miller, Cynthiana Vision Center, Cynthiana, KY
• Keep their parents away. I can handle them fine, it is the parents that get in the way.  — Jeff Hayden, OD, Vision Care Center, Brighton, MI
• While most of the kids are well behaved, the ones that refuse to listen or purposely disrupt things would be the ones we would appreciate good behavior from. Sometimes offering a “better put that down, don’t think mom wants that on her bill today!” will have mom remember to watch her kids!  — Pam Peters, Midwest Eye, Downers Grove, IL
• Of course, GET OFF THE PHONE. Look up, enjoy your surroundings and talk to someone. Not only is the Blue Light a problem but kids are going to develop permanent bent necks!  — Allen D. Hoek, OD, Ripon, CA
• Building sand castles….my floor is sand.  — Julie Uram, Optical Oasis, Jupiter, FL
• Pulling their glasses off with ONE HAND!  — William Chancellor, Eye Can See Eyewear, McDonough, GA
• Fidgeting in the exam chair and not answering questions in full sentences.   — Jill Sweig, OD, Oyster Bay Optics, Oyster Bay, NY
• Quit acting like the world’s about to end. Even though it is.  — Rick Rickgauer, Vision Associates, Girard, PA
• Chewing gum.  — Alexander Saper, Great Glasses, Houston, TX
• Pushing their frames so hard against their faces it splays the nose pads all the way out. Of course they’re slipping down!  — Jeff Grosekemper, Casa De Oro Eyecare, Spring Valley, CA
• Touching everything and not liking a frame on their parent.  — Dorothy Reynolds, Optical Alternatives, Milford, CT
• Touching product with sticky hands.  — Lisa Trippi, Lux Eyewear, Newark, CA
• Not wearing their glasses.  — Cedric Mitsui, OD, Big Island Vision Center, Hilo, HI
• Touching all. the. demo. lenses.  — Scott Felten, Fox Valley Family Eye Care, Little Chute, WI
• Turn the volume down on their games and bringing food. Parents should manage their children.  — Pam Housley, Texas State Optical of Nederland, Port Arthur, TX
• Most of the kids are great, we love seeing kids. It’s more that the parents let them get away with bad behavior. The parents need to act like parents.  — Elizabeth Atkinson, OD, Atkinson Eye Care, Algonquin, IL
• Be shy.  — Sabina Krasnov, i2ioptique, Scottsdale, AZ
• Stop listening to their parents so much! It might sound counterintuitive, but kids need to love the eyeglasses that they pick out. Often times they choose frames that they don’t like because their parents steer them to their pick. If they don’t love their frames, they won’t want to wear them.  — Harris Decker, Eye Designs of Westchester, Scarsdale, NY
• Malingering.  — Jill Schnurer, OD, Village Eyecare Co., Clarkston, MI
• Breathing — JK!! Probably, just make it easier for us to dilate them — no screaming or crying.  — Mark Perry, OD, Vision Health Institute, Orlando, FL
• Stop whining! Plus why do little boys fart when they get nervous??  — Kathy Maren, Combs Eyecare & Eyewear, Western Springs, IL
• Fortunately I don’t have children in my boutique but in the past I’d give anything for the female teens to stop squeezing zits in my dispense table mirror. Seriously?  — Sherry Berry, EYE Against EYE, Philadelphia, PA
• NOT wearing their glasses, when they clearly have a high Rx.  — Desiree Davis, Bee Cave Vision Center and Dripping Springs Vision Center, Bee Cave and Dripping Springs, TX
• Smaller kids: touching all my exam crap. Older kids: not respecting their eyes.  — Justin Holt, OD, West Point Eye Center, West Point, UT
• Wearing clear lenses instead of Transitions.  — Texas Smith, OD, Dr. Texas Smith and Associates, Citrus Heights, CA

ONLINE EXTRAS

• Breathing — JK!! Probably, just make it easier for us to dilate them — no screaming or crying.  — Mark Perry, OD, Vision Health Institute, Orlando, FL
• Not wearing their glasses, when they clearly have a high Rx.   — Desiree Davis, Bee Cave Vision Center and Dripping Springs Vision Center, Bee Cave and Dripping Springs, TX
• Smaller kids: touching all my exam crap. Older kids: not respecting their eyes.  — Justin Holt, OD, West Point Eye Center, West Point, UT
• Wearing clear lenses instead of Transitions.  — Texas Smith, OD, Dr. Texas Smith and Associates, Citrus Heights, CA
• Most of the kids are great, we love seeing kids. It’s more that the parents let them get away with bad behavior. The parents need to act like parents.  — Elizabeth Atkinson, OD, Atkinson Eye Care, Algonquin, IL
• Chewing gum.  — Alexander Saper, Great Glasses, Houston, TX
• Keep their parents away. I can handle the children fine, it is the parents that get in the way.  — Jeff Hayden, OD, Vision Care Center, Brighton, MI
• Not listening.  — Heather Harrington, Elevated Eyecare, Denver, CO
• Kids and adults alike, I wish people would put down their phones.  — Jessika Arena, The Eye Center, Asheville, NC
• Touching every frame in the office!  — Gail Bailey, The Eye Care Clinic, Hill City, MN
• Screaming bloody murder because you may touch their eyeball.  — Diana Sims, Buena Vista Optical, Chicago, IL
• Talk!! We do mostly older clients.  — Chris Clark, Mullis Eye Institute, Panama City, FL
• I just want eye contact. So whatever prevents them from giving me that.  — Josh Bladh, Dr. Bladh OD, Diamond Bar, CA
• Looking down at their personal apparatus.  — BJ Chambers, Carrera Optical, McQueeney, TX
• Having Medi-Cal.  — Erin Pillsbury, Shasta Eye Medical Group, Redding, CA
• Running around unsupervised by their parents, grabbing expensive frames like toys and eating all of our candy that’s sitting out for our customers. AARGH!!!  — Paula Hornbeck, Eye Candy & Eye Candy Kids, Delafield, WI
• Grab frames off the displays.  — Scott Keating, OD, Vision Trends, Dover, OH
• Touching everything in the store.  — Christine Howard, Attleboro Vision Care, Attleboro, MA
• Staring at their phones.  — Steve Boydte, Performance EyeCare, Swansea, IL
• Digital media. Too much digital media.  — Zach Dirks, OD, St. Peter Eyecare Center, St. Peter MN 
• Staring at their electronic babysitting devices.  — Jim Williams, Eye to Eye Optometry, Mexico, MO
• Grabbing frames from the board and putting grubby finger prints everywhere!  — Marc Ullman, OD, Academy Vision, Pine Beach, NJ
• Playing with expensive equipment because no parenting occurs.  — Fred Sirotkin, OD, Eagle Eye Care, Columbia, MD
• The kids are great, it’s the adults that need some magical help, lol!  — Selina McGee, OD, Precision Vision, Edmond, OK
• Making a mess in the office.  — Michelle Wright, DePoe Eye Center, Sharpsburg, GA
• Yelling / crying!  — Claudia Hecht, Sterling Optical, Newburgh, NY 
• Touching everything.  — James Armstrong, Alberta Eye Care, Portland, OR 
• Grabbing frames!  — Caitlin Bruno, Binyon Vision Center, Bellingham, WA
• Crying.  — David Saxton, Kern Optical, Gulfport, MS
• Cell phones at 9?? Kids are too grown for themselves…However, it’s not their fault, it’s how they are raise by their parents or guardian.  — Will Taylor, Eye 2 Eye Contact, Northville, MI
• Cry.  — Amina Ebrahim, OD, D Vision Eyecare, Allen, TX
• Texting while talking.  — Maxine Kobley, Metrovision, Carle Place, NY
• Whining.  — Betty Aretz, The Eyecare Boutique, Wexford, PA
• Putting dirty fingers on every frame!  — Dave Schultz, OD, Urban Optics, San Luis Obispo, CA
• Running in the dispensary and grabbing everything.  — Pablo E Mercado, Mount Vernon Eyecare, Dunwoody, GA
• I’m resigned to the fact that kids will immediately want to try on every pair of frames. But if only they would stop touching all the lenses as they did so.  — Jen Heller, Pend Oreille Vision Care, Sandpoint, ID
• Touching all the lenses on every frame…  — Jennifer Leuzzi, Mill Creek Optical, Dansville, NY
• Using cell phones being disrespectful of their parents.  — Bob McBeath, Edina Eye, Edina, MN
• Listen to their parents and put their cell phone away.   — Ron Catterson, Clear View Optix, The Villages, FL
• Running around pulling frames off the boards.  — Frances Ann Layton, Eye Associates of South GA, Valdosta, GA
• Touching every frame.  — Cynthia Sayers, OD , EyeShop Optical Center, Lewis Center, OH
• Stop putting their fingers on the lenses in my phoropter!  — Paula Koch, OD, Cherry Optometry, Chelsea, MI
• Crying about getting drops put in their eyes.  — Chani Miller, OD, Park Eye Center, Highland Park, NJ
• Rude to parents.  — Susie Phillips, Dr. Brendon Johnson, OD, Pekin, IL
• Get off devices and experience the world around them.  — Blake Hutto, OD, Family Vision Care, Alma, GA
• It would be to stop kids from spending so much time on cell phones, video games, and the like. Teach them that they need to give their eyes a break and they need to physically play and socialize with others.  — Dawn Christman Munoz, North Valley Eye Medical Group, Mission Hills, CA
• I would have their parents mind their children. Don’t blame the kids.   — Cindy Harmon, Sonoma Eyeworks, Santa Rosa, CA
• Be addicted to electronic devices. Go outside and play, enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. Get dirty.  — Amy Pelak, Proview Eyecare Optometry, Corona, CA

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