Is Your Child Old Enough for Contacts?

Glasses are a low maintenance way to correct your child’s vision. However, your child may start to show an interest in contact lenses at some point. 

As a parent, you’re probably wondering if your child’s old enough to wear them. But in truth, age has little to do with wearing contacts. Other factors, such as personal hygiene and maturity, have more influence on your child’s readiness for contact lenses than age. 

Our team at Benjamin Optical offers these suggestions to help you determine whether your child is ready to wear contact lenses.

How to tell if your child is old enough for contact lenses

Most optometrists agree that children should be between the ages of 12-13 years before wearing contact lenses, but that range isn’t set in stone. Some children can be ready for contacts as early as age nine.

Before you have your child fitted for contact lenses, consider why they want them, how mature they are, and their hygienic habits.

Motivation

Your child’s motivation for wanting contacts can help you determine if they’re ready to have them. 

Maybe your child plays sports and their glasses are affecting their performance and vision. The drive to improve athletic performance makes them a good candidate for contact lenses, and they’re more likely to take better care of them too.

Maturity level

Unlike glasses, contact lenses require much more care. Contact lens candidates must be mature and responsible enough to follow healthy habits. And most parents know that age doesn’t always determine a child’s maturity.

You may have an 11-year-old who takes responsibility for their chores and homework and a 16-year-old who constantly loses and mistreats their glasses. When your child shows maturity and responsibility in other aspects of their life, they may be ready for contact lenses.

Personal hygiene habits

Wearing and caring for contact lenses requires good personal hygiene. When your child starts showing an interest in contacts, ask yourself if he or she practices good personal hygiene. Do you need to remind your child to wash-up before dinner or do they frequently do it without you asking?

Contact lenses must be cleaned and sanitized any time they come out of your child’s eyes. If your child practices good hygiene, they’re more likely to keep their contacts clean as well.

Types of contact lenses for children

There are many types of soft and hard contact lenses available for children. Each type provides unique benefits, and your child’s vision, lifestyle, and eye health determine which kind is right for them. 

At Benjamin Optical, we offer soft and hard contacts for children. Options for soft contact lenses include daily wear lenses and disposable lenses. 

Daily lenses can be worn for 12 hours each day then removed at night. This type of lens is a monthly prescription, so your child needs to replace their contact lenses every 30 days. 

Disposable lenses can be worn for one day and then thrown away. If you feel that your child isn’t responsible enough for daily wear lenses, disposable contacts may be a better option as they require less maintenance.

Hard contact lenses provide sharp, crisp vision. They take more time to adjust to than soft contact lenses, but they help your child’s vision more if they have astigmatism or myopia. Your Benjamin Optical provider can recommend which type is best for your child during their pediatric eye exam.

To learn more about contact lenses for your child, give our friendly team at Benjamin Optical a call or use our simple online booking tool to schedule an appointment at one of our four offices in New York.