Choosing Eye Glasses

Most children who need eyeglasses are either nearsighted or farsighted. Depending on the degree of visual correction necessary, your eye doctor will prescribe glasses for full- or part-time wear. Some kids will be instructed to take their eyeglasses off for schoolwork, while others will need to wear them all of the time.

Fashion Forward
Whether they are full- or part-time eyeglass wearers, most kids get at least a little teasing about their specs, especially the first time they wear them. Children can feel more comfortable about wearing glasses when they are allowed to choose their own frames. Your child will want to avoid any frames deemed "uncool," but you as a parent still need to offer subtle guidance if you think certain frames clearly are objectionable, too expensive or inappropriate.

Just keep in mind that the real object is to get your child to wear the glasses. Extra enticement may be found in ultra cool features like ’Transitions’ with tints that darken outdoors.

Plastic vs. Metal
Children's frames are made of either plastic or metal (wire). Many manufacturers copy adult styles for children's frames. Kids may be attracted to these styles because they are more grown-up and it’s not unusual for kids to ask for glasses that look just like Mom's or Dad's. Kids also love cartoon characters so we carry Disney, Nickelodeon and X-Games frames that have trendy, grown-up styling with fun colors and patterns.

Each frame must be evaluated individually to make sure it fits the bridge. If any gaps exist between the bridge of the frame and the bridge of the nose, the weight of the lenses will cause the glasses to slide, no matter how well the frame seems to fit before the lenses are made. It is important that the glasses stay in place because kids tend to look right over the tops of the lenses instead of pushing slipping glasses back up where they belong. Your optician is usually the best judge of whether a frame fits properly.

Cable temples and straps are not a good choice for part-time eyeglass wearers because they are a bit more awkward to put on and take off. For glasses that go on and off frequently, it is better to have regular, or "skull," temples that go straight back and then curve gently around the back of the ear.

Lens Material
Children's lenses should be made of polycarbonate or a new material called Trivex, because they are the most impact-resistant material around. In addition to being the safest materials, they also are lighter in weight than regular plastic lenses, a nice advantage for strong prescriptions. Polycarbonate and Trivex lenses have built-in protection against potentially damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays and are scratch resistant as well

Sports Eyewear
Polycarbonate is such a safe lens material that you may be tempted to let your child play sports in his regular glasses. Here's the drawback: although polycarbonate is the lens material used for sports eyewear, regular eyeglass frames do not provide enough protection from large objects such as balls and flying elbows. So if your kid is involved in sports, a proper sports goggle with polycarbonate lenses will provide the most protection against eye injury.

Backup Pair
If your child needs to wear glasses all of the time and cannot function without them, you may want to purchase a backup pair of glasses in case something happens to the primary pair. A sports goggle or prescription sunglasses can double nicely as a spare pair.

Warranties
Many optical retailers offer a warranty plan that will replace eyewear at no charge or for a small fee in case of damage to the frames or lenses. The Optical Boutique at CarlinVision does not charge for this coverage. We offer a one time in one year replacement for scratched lenses and/or frames breakage. Addition replacement during the one year plan can be purchased at a reduced cost.

A scratched lens is the most common type of damage. If scratched, you must replace it because it can compromise your child's vision development.