Playground report: Kids with glasses look smarter
Categories: Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11, Playground bureau
When a child is prescribed glasses, the first thing every says is how much smarter they will look. And in spite of the fact that the key feature in Superman's disguise was a pair thick glasses and nerdy hair, a recent study found this little morale boosting comment is actually true.
Children in the research group were shown numerous pairs of photographs of kids, some wearing glasses and some without, and were queried who: Would you rather play with? Looks smarter? Looks better at playing sports? Do you think is better looking? More shy? Appears more honest?
Two thirds of the kids (ranging in age from 6-10) chose photographs of children wearing glasses as being smarter. Nearly sixty percent of the participants also felt that the kids with glasses were more honest.
"If the impression of looking smarter will appeal to a child, I would use that information and tell the child it is based on research," lead study author Jeffrey Walline said. "Most kids getting glasses for the first time are sensitive about how they're going to look. Some kids simply refuse to wear glasses because they think they'll look ugly."
But kids aren't stupid. They know looking smart isn't the same thing as looking cool or pretty. What might help is that glasses are now so cool, even people who don't need them are sporting them . And more important to kids, HARRY POTTER wears glasses!
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