Do kids and contact lenses make good partners?
Many parents question whether children are good candidates for wearing contact lenses safely. In general, yes – many kids can successfully and safely wear contacts! However, this depends heavily on the individual child’s personality and maturity level, and not necessarily on their age (as many people believe).
At Professional VisionCare, we perform thorough eye exams for children in our modern eye care offices in Lewis Center, Westerville, Johnstown, and The Solution Center, Ohio. Based on the results from your child’s eye exam and a personalized consultation, we’ll help determine their candidacy for contacts. What issues must be taken into consideration?
When are kids ready to start wearing contact lenses?
Often, children as young as eight years old can wear contacts – but older teens cannot. That’s because readiness has to do with the child’s level of responsibility. To figure out if your kid is responsible enough to take care of contact lenses, ask yourself the following questions:
- Will he or she follow our eye doctor’s instructions for how to take care of contact lenses?
- Will he or she remember to remove the contacts before falling asleep each night?
- Will your child be able to keep track of when to switch to a fresh pair of lenses?
- Does your child finish chores and homework without constant reminders?
What’s the best type of contact lenses for kids?
Our optometrists in Lewis Center, Westerville, Johnstown, and The Solution Center, Ohio, often recommend daily disposable soft contacts for children of all ages. Caring for these lenses couldn’t be any easier – all your kid needs to do is throw them out each night and insert a fresh pair in the morning. For the health of your child’s eyes, it’s critical to choose high-quality dailies from a premium, brand-name manufacturer. Cheaper versions, such as knock-off labels from online shops, are associated with a much higher incidence of eye injury and infection!
How can kids benefit from contact lenses?
If your child plays sports, this is a simple question to answer! Glasses, even the best polycarbonate frames and lenses, can crack and cause eye injury. Putting on a pair of safety goggles over contact lenses is a much safer solution. As an added bonus, this vision combo gives wider peripheral vision than eyeglasses for seeing the whole field or court.
All kids, athletes and bookworms, get a boost to their self-esteem if they’re insecure about their appearance in glasses. Studies have shown how shy children were able to break free and socialize with more confidence once they switched to contact lenses.
Also, many kids have a habit of taking their glasses on and off, forgetting them in random places. Contact lenses cannot be misplaced as easily!
What’s the most important thing to tell kids who want to wear contact lenses?
When kids visit our optometry practices in Lewis Center, Westerville, Johnstown, and The Solution Center, Ohio, to ask about getting contacts, we make sure to tell them about the risks of being negligent. When contact lenses aren’t cared for properly, they can lead to serious infections that may damage vision. At Professional VisionCare, we’ll take the time to instruct your child on the best ways to handle, disinfect, and store their new contact lenses!
At Professional VisionCare, we put your family's needs first. Talk to us about how we can help you maintain healthy vision. Call us today: 614-898-9989 or book an appointment online to see one of our Lewis Center eye doctors.
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