Are you considering contacts for your child? It’s common to transition from glasses to contact lenses at some point in life, and many parents wonder when the time is right for their child to do so.
Keep reading to find out if there is a recommended age for using contact lenses!
Why Choose Contacts for Your Child?
There are many reasons why it may be preferable for a child to wear contacts instead of glasses. Here are some reasons why you may consider contact lenses for your child:
Avoid Injury or Damage to Visual Aids
Young children can have very active lifestyles. They may be involved in sports, or spend a lot of time outside, biking, swimming, or doing any other of their favorite activities.
When your child is so active, it can be easy for them to lose, scratch, or break their glasses. In some cases, children may even injure themselves in the process of accidentally breaking their glasses.
You won’t have to worry about this when they wear contacts instead.
Improve Self-Confidence
As they get older and appearance becomes more important to them, children may no longer want to have to wear glasses. This is especially true when they become teens.
Not having to wear glasses can be a big self-confidence booster. Your child may feel better about themselves if glasses aren’t a regular part of their appearance.
Ensure They Are Seeing Their Best At All Times
When their only vision choice is to wear glasses, and they don’t want to, it’s common for children to remove their glasses when their parents are not around. They may tuck them in their backpack during the school day or purposefully leave them in the car in the morning.
As a result, they spend their day straining their eyes instead of seeing clearly. Strain can lead to fatigue, headache, and more.
This can be detrimental to their schoolwork.
Affordability
In addition to visual freedom, contact lenses are more affordable to replace than glasses. It can be an unexpected financial burden when your child’s glasses break, or they lose them, and you have to replace them.
Your child’s prescription will also change as they grow up. It’s far more wallet-friendly to accommodate a changing prescription by purchasing new contacts rather than a new pair of glasses.
Other options, like refractive eye surgery, are not recommended for children under eighteen. So, contacts can be an ideal alternative to glasses.
How Old Do You Have to Be to Wear Contacts?
Although there is no generally recommended minimum age required to wear contacts, your child’s eye doctor may have their own unique requirements. Instead of there being a definitive minimum age for contacts, the question of whether contact lenses may be suitable for your child depends on a variety of factors.
The most common age for children to begin wearing contacts is between the ages of eleven and fourteen. This is because most children are mature enough to handle the responsibility of wearing contacts by this age.
Contacts require a different kind of care than glasses. After they have a chance to get used to it, your child should be able to insert and remove their contacts on their own, with minimal supervision.
They should understand the importance of keeping their contacts and case clean. Proper hygiene is necessary to avoid infections and keep their eyes healthy.
You should also be able to trust that they will be careful when handling them, since they can be torn. While there is no hard and fast minimum age for contacts, not every child can handle the responsibility of wearing them.
If you’re considering contacts for your child, sit down with them and explain what wearing contacts entails. If they have a hard time handling other basic responsibilities, they may not be ready for contact lenses yet.
How Do You Get Contacts For Your Child?
Your child’s eye doctor can prescribe contact lenses during a routine eye exam if they believe contact lenses are suitable for your child. If contact lenses are recommended, your child will then have a contact lens fitting.
If you wear contacts yourself, then you are familiar with the process of a contact-fitting exam. Since this will be your child’s first time getting fitted for contacts, explaining the process will include can be helpful.
Your child’s eye doctor will start by reviewing your child’s overall medical history and performing a comprehensive exam of their eyes. They will discuss with you whether your child is a good candidate for contact lenses.
If they are, they will then perform a contact exam to determine your child’s contact prescription. They will also conduct a fitting to find the appropriate lens size for them.
The doctor will guide your child through the insertion and removal process so that they can get used to the process. They may want to see your child back in a few weeks to ensure the contact lens fit is just right.
Are you interested in determining whether contact lenses may be right for your child? Schedule an eye exam at Takle Eye Group in Griffin, GA, today to find out!
