Traveling with small children is neither easy nor fun. We’ve all been there, either as the parent wearily pulling a toddler down the center aisle of the aircraft, or as the solo traveler who silently chants, “Please don’t sit by me, oh please don’t sit by me.” 

Admittedly, no one wants to sit near a sticky, squirmy kid on an airplane—not even his parents. That’s because the under-5 traveler is really a ticking time bomb—you expect it to go off, you just don’t know how long you’ve got. Your best hope with a bored, tired toddler is to remain positive yourself and not let on how utterly taxed you feel, too.

In fact, it’s a lot like fitting young presbyopes in multifocal contact lenses. Their success is largely dependent on your attitude and approach. If you remain upbeat and put on a happy face, the child (or, in this case, the presbyope) gets the sense that, while it may not seem easy or fun right now, you’re on a worthwhile adventure.

As Jason R. Miller, O.D., M.B.A., and Mile Brujic, O.D., describe in “Minimize Follow-Up for Multifocal Contacts," you might be your own worst enemy when it comes to multifocal fits. In fact, according to a survey of 500 presbyopic patients, only 8% of those currently wearing contact lenses were educated about multifocal contacts.

“One of the hurdles to multifocal success is managing patient’s expectations and excitement,” write Drs. Miller and Brujic. “When they inquire about the possibility of wearing this technology, their eye doctor often responds with some trepidation.” Does that sound like you?

But let’s assume you are on board with multifocal contact lens technology and believe in the ease and benefits of the latest multifocal lens technology. That being said, choose your words carefully. It’s important to use positive language.

For example, the authors recommend you try to communicate presbyopic fitting in such a way as to avoid the words “compromise” or “loss of vision.” Instead, they say, describe multifocal lenses as “customized” or “balanced” according to each patient’s visual system. Also, they say, “It is important to talk about adaptation to everyone, but don’t make a big deal about it.”

Like children, patients feed off their doctor’s attitude. The tone you set determines their faith in you and in the treatment you recommend. You want them to be prepared, yet confident and optimistic.

Before a recent flight with my three kids, I sat them down and explained that the trip across the country was not going to be easy. There would be moments when we might wish we never left in the first place. But in the long run, this trip would make us really happy.

Fitting multifocal contact lenses can be a challenging journey as well, but when you arrive at a successful fit, they can make your patients very pleased.