Ugh!

[Night Train]

OK, My 8 year old just broke his second pair of "GLasses that aren't supposed to break". Amazingly enough, he waited again until after the one year warrenty expired. So now I am thinking of contacts but the people at the place where I take him say I should wait until he's older. (Anywhere between 10 & 13 they say is probably old enough) What do you all think?

[Vicki]

In my experience I have never set an age limit because so much of it depends on the maturity level and how responsible the child will be. I have worked in offices where we have fit children as young as 6 and up. You have to consider hygeine and making sure the child can do insertion/removal on his own, etc. If you feel like he could handle it then I would at least try it.

Vicki

[chip anderson]

It is best to wait until the hormones kick in for extra motivation in contact lens sucess. This is usually 14+. Nowdays most practioners try to fit them younger and younger, not because the patients have improved but they try to get the patient before the optometrist down the street does. Usually this ends up with a terrified kid haveing a bad experience (they want them untill they find out hat mommie isn't going to be the one of putting them in and out every day)

Now for some other rules: The stronger the Rx (the more they need glasses) the more likely they are to be happy with and put up with contact lenses (the reason: You see better in contact lenses with strong Rx's as compared to glasses and the stronger the more this is so.) The more mature (less wimpy) the kid is them more likely they are to succeed (except this is not true with athletes who tend to be very whimpy when things get near the eye.) Females are better at an earlier age for contacts than males, two reasons: They tend to put more emphasis on sex appeal at an earlier age and they more used to putting all the stuff around the eye that girls do therefore are less afraid of putting contacts in and will put more time into appearance than boys.

Now if your child needs glasses only slightly and tears them up due to some reluctance to submit to wearing them : "He will not put up with contact lenses, period. If anyone is ever foolish enough to sell an "unbreakable" frame to a child and dumb enough to tell the child that it's unbreakable, this guarantees that it will be destroyed within two weeks max. If you sell such frames to children and don't mention the unbreakablility, it will probably last untlil the Rx changes or he out grows it.

Chip

[paw]

We don't fit CL on anyone under 12. The necessary level of responsibiltiy and good hygiene is not there, and the consequences of CL overwear on a young child is too frightening to think about. They have too many years of wear time ahead of them.

[HarryC]

Unfortunately there is no such thing as an unbreakable pair of eyeglasses.
In my opinion your child is much too young to consider contact lenses. There is a certian amount of responsibility involved when it comes to the cleaning and hygene that must be considered. Somtimes is difficult enough to find a 15 year old that is "old" enough!

[harry888]

If they are mature enough to pick up their room without a parent asking, they are mature enough to take care of contacts.

Parents like above quote very much.

Harry

[hip chic]

I have a 7 year old that would be wonderful with contacts. His room is ALWAYS clean...and so are his hands. On the other hand, my 11 year old would be a disaster...he's always losing things...and I haven't seen his bed (underneath all those clothes) in weeks.