
When children are young, having a childhood hero who wears glasses, like Harry Potter, can make the process a lot less frustrating.
But wearing glasses can still be a barrier for them enjoying all activities at times. Harry Potter may be able to keep his glasses on while playing Quidditch, but in other children’s’ reality playing sports like rugby, hockey, basketball and football are definitely dangerous for glasses wearers.
Luckily, gone are the days of contact lenses being only for children 16 years old.
Youngsters are growing increasingly more willing to accept the responsibilities that come with wearing contact lenses and are desperate to ditch their specs.
Resident optometrist at GetLenses.co.uk, Brendan O’Brien has provided the following hints and tips to help you and your child on your way:
1. Uphold the 3 Ms:
- Maturity – is your child grown up enough to accept the responsibilities that come with wearing contact lenses?
- Motivation – does the child really want to make the move into lenses?
- Mum (or Dad, of course) – are they around to help and support with initial teething problems and keep an eye on general care?
2. Don’t let age interfere: When it’s appropriate for your child, let them go for it
3. Wear a good quality daily disposable lens: This makes things easier for everyone – no need for laborious lens cleaning for the child, and no need to worry about the risk of infection for parents
4. Understand the full benefits: Getting used to wearing contact lenses can be tricky at first, but focus on the many benefits. In sport for example, a child will instantly be able to up their game, thanks to better peripheral vision and not having to worry about having an accident or breaking their glasses.
5. It’s not a permanent decision: If it doesn’t work out this time, you can try again in a few days, weeks, months or even years. Equally, if contact lenses definitely aren’t for your child it’s no hassle to pop the glasses back on again