Is my Child Old Enough for Contact lenses?

Glasses For My Three Year Old

When my son was three years old he was diagnosed with vision problems and needed glasses. At the time I felt concerned about what the implications of wearing glasses might be for him and what the reaction might be from his peers at nursery and later on at school.

Actually the experience was really positive. He got used to having glasses very quickly and was keen to wear them, as they improved his vision so much. There was also the benefit of an interesting range of age appropriate frames to choose from – starting with fun Mr Men ones, progressing through Shrek and Lego and as he’s got older, onto the seemingly ever-cool Star Wars option. If anything, his little friends were in awe of his cool glasses. Recently his face shape and the maturity which accompany being ten, have channeled him towards some very trendy, more simple designer frames.

Could My Child Wear Contact Lenses?

But earlier this year, as his prescription continued to change quite rapidly and the lenses in his glasses were becoming ever thicker, I thought it would be a good idea to make an appointment with the eye hospital and discuss his options. I was keen on finding out more about contact lenses as I thought his eyesight might be improved by wearing them, but I wasn’t sure whether they would trust a 10-year-old with their delicate handling and hygiene. Lets face it, young boys are not normally associated with excellent hand-washing skills!

And then, while we were going through this process, in one of those strange coincidences, I spotted the team from Acuvue at the huge annual event for bloggers and social influencers, BritMums Live. I headed straight over to them to discuss our situation. Amazingly, Acuvue were talking about the benefits of contact lenses for children and quickly reassured me that my son was a ripe old age as far as contacts go – in fact they tell me that children as young as 5 can wear them!

Trying Contact Lenses for the First Time

So this summer my lovely 10 year old tried contact lenses for the first time ever. The optician put them in for him and as he stood up to leave the room the first thing he said was

“Woah, that’s really weird. I feel like I can suddenly see without my glasses!”.

I hadn’t realised that those words would make me feel so emotional.

Even in the photo above, taken a couple of minutes after they were put in for the very first time, he wasn’t experiencing any discomfort.

Would My Son Cope With Contact Lenses?

For the following week or so, getting the lenses in and out of his eyes was quite a challenge to say the least, but he was so positive about wearing them he’d head off into another room and persevere in silence until he’d succeeded.

We’re a few months down the line now, but it seems like he’s been wearing them for much longer. He finds his vision is better with them, he’s handled the hygiene really well and his school friends are already used to seeing his whole face without thick glasses!

I’m so pleased I looked into getting him lenses and in typical guilt-ridden-Mother style, I’m kicking myself a little for not having done it earlier. He was definitely ready for the responsibility and although he looked good in his glasses, I love being able to see beautiful big brown eyes in their full glory once again.

So my ten year old is proving to be completely ready to manage contacts independently. I can’t be certain whether he would have coped so well a couple of years earlier or not.

Do you have a child who wears contact lenses? Have you ever considered them?

If so, what do you think might be a good age to try them?

If you have anything to add, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

UPDATE: Video interview of how he’s finding his contact lenses 18 months later. If you’re trying to decide whether lenses are right for your own child, I think you’ll find this extremely helpful!