Are Contact Lenses a Good
Choice for Kids?

By Gretchyn Bailey; updates and review by Gary Heiting, OD

The biggest concern parents have about contact lenses for their kids may be: "Is my child old enough to wear contact lenses?"

There is no one answer. Physically, the eyes can tolerate contact lenses at a very young age. Some babies are fitted with contact lenses due to eye conditions present at birth. And in a recent study that involved fitting nearsighted children of ages 8-11 with one-day disposable contact lenses, 90 percent had no trouble applying or removing the contacts without assistance from their parents.*

What parents are really asking could be: "Is my child mature enough to wear contact lenses?"

Only parents can answer that question. If you're considering contact lenses for your child, take a look at how your child handles other responsibilities. Does he or she take out the trash, care for the dog, or follow through with school or other projects?

If children need frequent reminders for everyday chores, they may not be ready for the responsibility of wearing and caring for contact lenses. But if they handle such duties well, they may be excellent candidates for contact lenses.

Children are naturally great contact lens wearers if they accept the responsibility for them. They adapt well to wearing the lenses due to their flexible personalities.

Kids also develop fewer complications than adults. Younger people usually heal faster and have stronger immune systems.

Plus, children often follow instructions about contact lens wear better than adults, so they have fewer problems with overwearing the lenses or not using the correct contact lens solutions.

Contact Lenses Are Great for Sports

Sports and contact lenses are a great combination for all athletes, including children. Contact lenses may be a safer vision option than glasses for recreation use. If a child wears eyeglasses for sports, polycarbonate lenses are a must. But their eyeglass frames are still vulnerable to breakage.

Many contact lenses, especially gas permeable (GP) lenses, offer better optics than eyeglasses. This leads to clearer vision and better sports performance. A baseball player might see the ball a few milliseconds sooner with crisp vision from contact lenses.

And compared with eyeglasses, contact lenses also provide better peripheral vision, which may also improve performance in sports.

[Read more information on sport contact lenses and sport eyeglasses.]

Did you know? Certain contact lenses may help slow the progression of nearsightedness in children.

Controlling Nearsightedness

Myopia control is another great reason for children to wear contact lenses. If your young son or daughter is nearsighted, gas permeable (GP) contacts may be the best choice. According to several studies, GP contact lenses can slow the progression of myopia in many children.

Although the concept is still somewhat controversial, many eye care practitioners believe nearsighted kids who are fit with GP contact lenses will develop less myopia than those who wear glasses or soft contact lenses.

Building Self-Esteem With Contact Lenses

Contact lenses can do wonders for your child's self-esteem. Many kids simply don't like the way they look in eyeglasses. Wearing contact lenses can often improve how they feel about their appearance, elevating their self confidence. School performance and participation may also increase after a child switches to contact lenses. Amazingly, two thin pieces of plastic may breathe new life into a previously reserved child.

Also, keep in mind that switching your child from glasses to contact lenses need not be a permanent decision. If your child does not adapt well, or is not up to the responsibility of wearing and caring for contact lenses, your eye care professional will not hesitate to recommend glasses as an alternative means of vision correction. Contact lenses can always be tried again at a later date.

*"Daily disposable contact lens wear in myopic children." Optometry and Vision Science. Vol. 81, No. 4 (April 2004); pp. 255-259.

[Page updated July 2007]