Advantages of Contact Lenses for Kids
When children ask for contact lenses instead of glasses, many parents go back and forth when deciding what to answer. Are contacts safe for kids? At what age can they begin to wear them?
According to the American Optometric Association, research shows that contact lenses can be a safe, viable eyewear option for kids as young as eight years old. At Switalski Eye Care, our eye doctor tells parents it all depends on the particular child.
Contact lenses can be a fabulous solution for vision correction for kids, as long as:
- An eye exam shows that their eye condition is suitable.
- The child is responsible and mature enough to take care of contacts.
To find out if your child is a good candidate for contact lenses, book a consultation and pediatric eye exam with our eye doctor.
Look at the Benefits of Contact Lenses
Suited for Sports
Contacts are better for playing sports, especially if your child is regularly involved in physical activities. They provide crisper vision and a wider field of view to improve sports performance. Contact lenses are also safer for active kids who have a track record of always breaking or bending their eyeglasses.
Self-esteem
Many children are self-conscious about their appearance in glasses. Not only does this get in the way of socializing confidently, but it can also have detrimental effects on their classroom performance – because they constantly remove their glasses, which interferes with learning clearly.
Sadly, bullying and teasing are also concerns amongst pediatric specialists, and kids who wear glasses are statistically at a higher risk of being the victims of physical or verbal bullying.
Eye health and myopia control
When kids are very nearsighted or have cornea damage from an injury or disease, contact lenses may provide better vision than glasses. Also, certain types of contact lenses, such as soft multifocals or ortho-k lenses, may help slow myopia progression. High myopia has been linked with future eye health problems. So if your child needs a new, stronger vision prescription after each pediatric eye exam, contact lenses for myopia control may be advised.
Overall health
Nowadays, with masks being the norm during the pandemic era, another bonus of contacts is that they don’t fog up like eyeglass lenses! So children are more likely to wear their masks correctly too.
Overall View of Contact Lenses for Kids
In sum, contact lenses can improve your child’s vision and quality of life, without increased risk to eye health. Once our eye doctor performs a pediatric eye exam and verifies that contact lenses are an appropriate method of vision correction, the child just has to be responsible enough to care for contacts properly. Patient behavior is the strongest factor in determining whether a child is ready for contact lenses. To get started, book a consultation and eye exam at Switalski Eye Care.
