Select the Right Eyewear For Active Kids

Glasses and contacts are very common for school-age kids and teens. However, many children may dislike wearing glasses and “forget” to wear them because they think people will tease them, they will look ugly, they won’t be able to play sports and a whole variety of other things. But all of these problems can be addressed. While you can’t keep kids from teasing (but you can teach your child how to respond or ignore it), you can reassure your child that their glasses do not affect their appearance or prevent them from playing sports. Thanks to contacts and an abundance of frame options, near sightedness, far sightedness and everything in between should not interfere with your child’s everyday life.

First and foremost, when picking out eyewear for your child, get them involved. Let them select their frames or contacts as this will help ensure your child, in fact, wears them as prescribed. You might want to be prepared for a few options depending on the number of sports your child is involved in.

Swimming

Is your child a regular fish out of water? While you may think contacts and a pair of regular goggles will do the trick, it is not advised by the American Optometric Association. Wearing contacts while swimming or sitting in a hot tub can cause infection. Additionally, the chlorine can damage the lenses if they become exposed to the water. Consider instead a pair of prescription goggles. This will give your child the confidence to swim their best while seeing their best.

Skiing/Snowboarding

If you have a snow bunny on your hands, consider contacts. The lack of frames will allow your child to easily put on and take off ski goggles and still see their surroundings. If you are worried your child is too young for contacts, don’t. According to All About Vision, eyes can tolerate contact lenses at a very young age. In fact, some infants are fitted with contact lenses due to eye conditions present at birth, and by age eight, most children do not have trouble putting in or removing contact lenses. And, because you are living an active lifestyle, try ordering your child’s contacts through an online retailer like Vision Direct so you don’t have to add another errand to your list.

Basketball

For basketball, your child can opt for goggles, which stay in place better, or sport glasses that have a more stylish look. While it’s not a common occurrence on the court, remind your kids that basketball greats like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Amar’e Stoudemire both wore corrective lenses while they played.

Baseball and Soccer

With outdoor sports, UVA and UVB protection is an additional concern. Invest in a transitional pair of prescription glasses that your child can wear both on and off the field. Luckily, your kid won’t feel out of place because all children are encouraged to wear sunglasses whenever outdoors. Just as parents protect children from skin cancer by putting sunscreen on them, parents should teach their children to protect their eyes by wearing sunglasses.

Credit: Guest Post by Samantha McIntosh. Samantha’s Blog can be found here. You can also find her on Twitter.