CHOOSING SUNGLASSES FOR CHILDREN

Children’s eyesight is much more delicate than that of an adult. That’s why small children must wear children’s sunglasses, throughout the whole year, in order to be protected from the impact of damaging sunbeams.

Choosing sunglasses adequately is important, not just for aesthetic reasons, but for their comfort and fit, to prevent the child from taking them off, or from them falling and breaking, among other reasons.

Below, we make some suggestions for choosing good sunglasses for children, that avoid being a true headache.

Why should we buy good sunglasses for our children?

To start, you should take into account that some children’s sunglasses are not only “a fashion complement”. Far from being simply aesthetic, putting sunglasses on children prevents many ocular problems.

Children’s eyes are 20 times more sensitive to sun rays (ultraviolet) than those of adults. This is one of the reasons for which it is recommended to protect children’s eyes with sunglasses during the entire year. Summer being one of the most sensitive times.

The purpose of good children’s sunglasses is to protect our children from radiations and external agents that can affect their ocular health.

Why should children use sunglasses the whole year long?

Here are some of the main reasons for which we should protect children’s eyesight from the sun rays:

• Children’s pupils are larger than those of adults. Therefore, the children are more prone to greater exposure to light.
• Lens closure. This part of the eye has not been fully developed, so it does not fully execute its filtering function.
• They have less pigmentation in ocular tissues. It is one of the systems for protecting the eye against UV rays.

At 12 years of age, the percentage decreases to 25%. At 25 years of age, it can be considered that the lens can now correctly perform its filtering function. This helps us avoid diseases in old age, such as cataracts.

Aspects to take into account

These are the main aspects to take into account, when choosing sunglasses for children:

• Firstly, buy them at a specialized establishment, such as an optical store, for example. In these establishments, they can explain to you all characteristics of glasses, and the lenses, and guarantee the quality.
• The type of lens. Optical professionals will help us select the ideal type of lens for the use to which the glasses are going. There are different categories of crystals depending on the light they let through. The most recommended category of lenses for children's glasses is 3 (Cat. 3)
• Make sure that the glasses have undergone the minimum quality controls. For this, verify that they have the European Community mark. Verify that the children’s sunglasses protect children from UV rays and UVA rays.
• It is important that when choosing glasses for children, they adapt well to their physiognomy. The most complete glasses include accessories such as elastic bands, for greater adjustment and adaptation possibilities.
• Think about the activities your children perform. There are glasses where it is possible to change the tips for an elastic band, for better fastening while performing recreational activities with more movement, such as skiing and skateboarding, for example.
• Lastly, take into account that, if our child needs prescription lenses, there are prescription ready sunglasses. The latest trend is even to buy prescription glasses with an incorporated solar clip-on, to adapt to all circumstances.

In Nano Vista we have a wide variety of models of sunglasses.