Do My Children Need Sunglasses?

kids-sunglassesThe other day I was picking out a fantastic new pair of sunglasses for myself and a thought occurred to me…I wonder if I should be putting as much effort into finding sunwear for my children as I do for finding a pair for myself.

But, honestly, only a small part of why I wear sunglasses is to see better.  I hate eyestrain. I despise the lines that squinting creates on my skin, and frankly I think the right sunglasses add a certain amount of style.

My three-year old isn’t worried about style or crow’s feet for that matter.  Does he really need sunglasses?

I asked my optometrist this question and the answer was, an emphatic, yes!

In fact, if you are like me, you plan for and think about how you will protect your child’s skin. You invest in bottle after bottle of kid-friendly sunblock, yet you forget to protect one of their greatest assets from the sun– their eyes.  Those UV rays are damaging to the little peepers and by making sure your children have sunglasses on when they are young, you can help give them a great start in safeguarding themselves against certain eye diseases when they get older.

UV Protection

But, here’s the rub — apparently those cute Hello Kitty sunglasses I bought my little girl with the pretty pink lenses aren’t going to cut it.  In fact, most of the character-focused checkout lane sunglasses you’ll find are not going to do much to help your children’s eyesight.  In fact — most fashion-colored lenses aren’t going to have any UV protection at all.  Be sure to only purchase children’s sunglasses that have 100% UV protection and nothing less.

Design

If your child has a hard time keeping glasses on, there are lots of great sunglasses options with straps on the back to keep them in place.  Or, if you have a little one that just refuses to wear them, your second best option is a wide brimmed hat. Although it doesn’t protect your children’s eyes completely from the UV rays, the shade it provides does minimize their impact.

Quality

The absolute best way to be sure your children’s shades are high quality and doing a good job is to get them from a reputable optical store like America’s Best. This way you can also make sure that your child’s prescription is correctly put in the sun lens.  The best news of all is you can get two pairs for one low, low price!

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