Children's Eyeglass Frames: Like Yours, But More Fun

By Erinn Morgan

Odds are, there's a pair of eyeglasses that both you and your child will love at the optical store. Today's styles feature durability and safety for your peace of mind, as well as designs that please your kids, whether they go for popular characters such as Harry Potter, SpongeBob and Barbie, "grown-up" styles, or a mix of both.

What Kids Want, and Why You Should Give It to Them

Today, many kids want eyeglasses that look just like their parents' or older brother's and sister's. Plastics in elongated rectangular shapes, small, retro-styled ovals, and even thin, clean titanium eyeglasses are all available for small customers today. The availability of these styles for kids has them yearning to wear glasses more than ever before.

Click here to see closeups.

Branded eyewear appeals to kids as well as adults. Here, eyeglasses from Barbie, Jessica McClintock and Stride Rite.
 

Pop-culture icons and logos are big in kids' eyeglasses, too. Cartoon characters are coming out of the television and into the dispensary with their own line of children's frames. Many of these are grown-up in appearance with fun details, like glow-in-the-dark plankton on SpongeBob SquarePants frames or paw prints on Blue's Clues styles. The popular Harry Potter books and movies created a demand for frames "just like Harry's" while older children are influenced by trendy brands and logos they see being worn by their sports heroes.

No matter the style or brand, it is important for children to feel that they are a part of the frame selection process. Choosing an eyeglass frame they like goes a long way towards getting them to wear their glasses and take better care of them as well.

Tips for Buying Eyewear for Children
  • Your child will be more likely to wear new glasses if he or she gets to help pick them out.
  • Spring hinges can reduce your repair costs.
  • Polycarbonate is a very safe lens material (it's the same plastic that bulletproof glass is made of!).

Read more tips for buying kids' eyeglasses that look good and last.

What About What You Want?

While kids may want a specific color or brand, parents will want something that's going to last. Some of the technological developments that are showing up in adult frames such as spring hinges (which allow for much bending in both directions at the temples) and flexible frame materials (which allow for accidents such as sitting on frames or over-bending when taking them on and off) are now available in children's frames. Thinner, lighter and stronger materials like stainless steel and titanium are becoming more reasonably priced as the supply of frames made of these materials increases. Frames made from these durable materials are great for kids who are hard on their glasses.

In addition, more and more manufacturers of eyeglass frames and lenses, as well as the optical shops themselves, are offering extended warranties on children's eyeglasses so that parents can feel more at ease in making this purchase.

Polycarbonate lenses have also made a great impact in children's eyewear. Today, most kids' frames are sold complete with these impact-resistant lenses. [Read more about polycarbonate lenses for children.]

What's Popular With Kids and Parents:
Five Trends in Children's Eyewear

  1. Designers have taken cool and classic designs that work for adults and scaled them down for kids.
     
  2. Branded or licensed eyewear lines grab a child's attention. Fisher-Price, Hush Puppies, Stride Rite and Marvel Comics are appealing to kids of all ages but especially to very young children. Lines related to wrestling (WWF), basketball (Converse) and other sports are very popular with slightly older kids.
     
  3. Parents will appreciate the durability of spring hinges, flexible materials, strong frame materials and polycarbonate lenses available in kid's frames today. Children will appreciate not getting in trouble for breaking another pair of glasses.
     

Contact Lenses

LASIK & Vision Surgery

Eyeglasses

Sunglasses

Eye Exams

Problems & Diseases

  Cataracts

  Glaucoma

  Macular Degeneration

  Other Diseases

Vision Insurance

Low Vision

Computer Vision

Sports Vision

Nutrition & Eyes

Buy Smarter

Vision Over 40

Vision Over 60

Children's Vision

Teens

Resources

Home

Coppertone polarized lenses: Protect your eyes with America's most trusted suncare brand

Tears Again advanced Liposome Eyelid Spray is ideal for patients who have trouble using eye drops

Your eyelids may be causing your dry, scratchy and irritated eyes. Learn more

Similasan eye drops relieve and soothe dry eyes, pink eye and allergy eyes

Bothered by blurry vision? New Blur Relief eye drops naturally refresh dry, irritated eyes




 
  1. Sunglass clip-ons for eyeglass frames are available with many children's frame styles. These are hugely popular for adults and are now widely available for kids as well.
     
  2. For the child who is fast becoming a teenager, eyewear fashion is increasingly important, and designer eyeglass frames from Guess?, Calvin Klein, DKNY, Laura Ashley and others are appealing. Also popular are apparel and accessories names such as Esprit, Coach and Ocean Pacific, as well as celebrity brands like the Britney Spears eyewear collection.

 

[Page updated September 2006]

Coppertone polarized lenses: Protect your eyes with America's most trusted suncare brand

Tears Again advanced Liposome Eyelid Spray is ideal for patients who have trouble using eye drops

For dryness and irritation caused by eyelid problems, learn about OCuSOFT Lid Scrub

Similasan eye drops relieve and soothe dry eyes, pink eye and allergy eyes

Bothered by blurry vision? New Blur Relief eye drops naturally refresh dry, irritated eyes

Reproduction of any images or text from this website is prohibited by copyright law. Please read our copyright infringement policy.

Link Colors: Green = glossary terms, Blue = other pages
 
All About Vision is a registered service mark of Access Media Group LLC.
Copyright 2000-2008 Access Media Group LLC.

This website is accredited by Health On the Net Foundation. Click to verify.

We comply with the
HONcode standard for
trustworthy health
information:
verify here.