7 Ways to Help Your Child Transition from Eyeglasses to Contact Lenses

For many reasons, children often want to be free of their eyeglasses in favor of contact lenses. It could be due to being self-conscious about their appearance during their teenage years, or it may be because they learn of the advantages of contact lenses, of which there are several.
For many patients with vision problems, contact lenses can deliver superior vision than spectacles.
Unlike glasses, contact lenses don’t obstruct one’s peripheral vision, and at times specialty contact lenses can correct vision better than eyeglasses. Moreover, you don’t need to worry about misplaced glasses, broken frames, or foggy lenses with contacts.
Nevertheless, many parents worry about letting their children transition to contact lenses. Provided
the child can handle the responsibility of good hygiene, there’s no need to be alarmed. Over four
million children under the age of 18 in the US wear lenses, many of them pre-teens. If your child
wants to make the switch, keep these seven tips in mind to ease their transition.
1. Visit an optometrist instead of buying online
Buying online might be a more affordable option, but many internet distributors are not FDA-approved. An optometrist can retest your child’s vision to prescribe the most suitable lenses for their condition as well as teach your child how and when to use them. Contact lenses should only ever be dispensed by a licensed professional to prevent the risk of complications such as infection or injury.
2. Don’t throw out the eyeglasses
It might take some time for your child to get used to wearing contact lenses – they may feel uncomfortable at first, so it’s important to keep the glasses as a backup. Your optometrist may recommend using glasses as a primary method of vision correction for the first few months. Children may be able to become less dependent on wearing glasses as they become more accustomed to wearing contact lenses.
3. Choose daily-disposable lenses
Optometrists are becoming increasingly willing to prescribe contact lenses to children due to the convenience and safety of daily disposables, which are low maintenance. Instead of having to become familiar with the correct storage and cleaning process for contact lenses, children can start with lenses that can be thrown away every day.
4. Teach your child about safety
Even though contacts are usually safe for children, it’s essential to ensure they understand how to avoid harmful situations. Your optometrist will teach your child everything they need to know to protect their eyes while wearing contact lenses. They’ll also familiarize them with any required hygiene and storage responsibilities, if needed.
5. Stick to a schedule
The most straightforward way to ease your child’s transition to contact lenses is to set and stick to a rigid routine. Teach your children to fit and remove them at the same times daily to prevent accidents. You might want to start by having your child wear contacts on certain days rather than every day until they’ve established a routine.
6. Be patient
As mentioned above – it can take time to get used to wearing contact lenses, so remember to tell your child that patience is vital. Remind them they can revert to their eyeglasses if they find contact lenses too uncomfortable, but also let them know that a little feeling of awareness is perfectly normal in the beginning. If your child finds lenses painful for any reason, it is important to discontinue wear immediately and visit your eye care practitioner.
7. Remember to visit an optometrist regularly
Ideally, all children should undergo an eye exam annually, especially those that already have vision problems. Your child’s vision may change as they age, meaning they may need new corrective lenses from time to time.
At Miami Contact Lens Institute, we can test your child’s vision, diagnose issues accurately and recommend the most effective method of vision correction, and we work alongside parents and children to help ease the transition to contacts. If your child is ready to make the switch, make sure you book an appointment with us first.