Kids can be cruel. I was lucky, I grew up with kids that weren't so cruel. Kids who wore glasses were not picked on, and in fact, in general no kids were picked on. One kid had three 'cowlicks.' You know how the hair grows in a different direction in the back of our head. Well, one kid had three but we didn't pick on him. I was fortunate, I grew up with some good kids. But many kids can be very cruel, they will make fun of other kids who have something different.
For the kid who's different, we have to instill into them that, "It's ok", that however they're different, it's ok. To ritually say, "It's ok". It's important for them to understand that. Many of you have heard the expression, and I had to use it as a kid, too, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me." It's very important to teach that to your kid. It is very helpful for a little kid who is different.
To actually understand, "Well, they say those words but that doesn't harm me. I don't have to be harmed by the words. If they hit me that's different, but their words don't mean anything." To teach that to little children who are being picked on, whether it is glasses or anything else, to help them understand that they don't have to hurt.
Also help them to understand that they need the glasses. When I started wearing glasses, to me the biggest thing that I understood was, "This helps me". It didn't matter if somebody else thought, "Oh, he is wearing glasses". The fact was it helped me. I was watching a football game. I didn't wear glasses then, and kids were passing someone else's glasses around, "Neat, neat, you know, have a look." I put on the glasses and I could see the numbers on the players' shirts! The numbers on the back of the shirts are big, right? I couldn't see them before. All of a sudden I could see their numbers. So I wanted glasses because they helped me. If you can help your child understand that this is something that helps them, then their reaction will be better. If other people think that it is odd or funny, whatever, not to worry, not to worry, 'Sticks and stones' and that sort of thing.
Interesting when I got my false tooth. One thing I reflected on when I was asked whether I wanted a false tooth or not, was the fact that George Washington, the first president of the United States, had false teeth and they were made out of wood. If he can have all false teeth, I can have one. With the child who has to wear glasses, when you can show them someone else who wears glasses and they can be inspired by it, "Oh, my teacher wears glasses!" then the child may feel better knowing someone "important" also wears glasses.
One of the biggest problems my father had when he was about 75 was that he needed hearing aids. But he would say, "No, no, everybody else is speaking too softly!" I had to pressure him until he finally got them. When he did, my mother wrote us a letter and said, "Oh, he's so excited, he could hear his urine hit the water in the toilet. He hadn't heard it for years!" Tinkle, tinkle, he could actually hear it. He was excited, he was happy about it. So with glasses or whatever, to enable the child to understand the benefits and that it's ok. And it's very valuable that the child knows important people wear glasses, too.