Spectacles for children: Taking children to the optician

Our eyes are precious and sensitive, and they therefore need special protection – and children’s eyes even more so.

• Do not expose your child's eyes to any unnecessary risks. Ensure your child always wears protective goggles when doing any activities where dust, splinters, shavings or droplets of liquid are produced, e.g. in handicraft work. Concentrated jets of liquid can also pose a danger. A pair of sunglasses can help prevent a jet of water from a water pistol from reaching the eye.
  
• Protect your child's eyes with a good pair of sunglasses that offer 100% protection against harmful UV-A and UV-B radiation. It is extremely important that children’s eyes are shielded from the sun, otherwise reddening, itch or even inflammation may result.
  
• Avoid exposing your child to caustic or aggressive substances, e.g. acids and leaches, or when mixing or applying glues and adhesives or coating materials.
• Shield your child's eyes against glare or harmful radiation – during welding work for instance, or when working with a laser. These can lead to lasting damage to your child's eyes.
• Just like protective headgear, sports spectacles can protect your child's eyes against injury and irritation during sporting activities such as cycling, swimming or skiing.
  
  

• Fresh air is good not only for the general health of your child, but also for his or her eyes. Playing outdoors is an excellent means of relaxation for their eyes in order to compensate for the long periods of reading at short distances encountered in modern life, e.g. when studying for school, painting or playing with dad's smartphone! Scientific studies suggest that children who are exposed regularly to longer viewing distances suffer less frequently from eye irritation.
• A suitable pair of children's sunglasses relax and protect their eyes, even in the first rays of warm sunshine in the springtime.
• Even if your child has no obvious problems with his or her vision, experts advise that children should have their first thorough eye examination before the age of three at the latest. The second examination should be conducted before they start school and then every two years afterwards to enable early detection of any initial warning signals of any deterioration in their vision. For all premature babies and all children whose parents or siblings suffer from a squint or a severe visual impairment, an eye examination should be performed between the age of six and twelve months, and then at regular intervals afterwards.
  

BETTER VISION asked Hendrik Gausepohl, a German optician (Seiler Optik, Oberkochen/Germany), to provide us with his six most important tips for children's spectacles.

1. Start by selecting a frame that fits the anatomy of your child's face. The frame should not be too big to ensure that the lenses can be optimally centred.
2. Always choose plastic lenses, as they offer the most safety and protection during play.
3. Spectacle frames that can be flexibly adapted to each child's face are the perfect choice: soft, adjustable bridge components – ideally made of silicone – and flexibly adjustable sides are the best options.
   
4. Invest in a protective hard coating to ensure maximum durability. An anti-reflective coating is highly recommended for children at school. Reflections from classroom lights can severely impair vision and distract your child's attention accordingly.
5. Motivate your child to wear spectacles – and to enjoy wearing them. Actively involve him or her when selecting the right frame. And be tolerant if they select a colour that does not exactly correspond to your own personal taste! Here in my practice we make the eye examination as enjoyable and playful for the child as possible. The dolls and puppets we use in our work are very well received by the kids.
6. Children need UV light for the development of their eyes, but in the mountains, snow or at the seaside they must definitely wear sunglasses with 100% UV protection as the reflections increase the amount of light reaching their eyes.