How old for contact lenses?

[Heather in Neverland]

I have read a bit here and there that kids can wear contact lenses. Have any of you done this?

 

My 9yo wears glasses. He is also very active in sports especially soccer and tennis. He needs to wear his glasses when he plays. However, we are having multiple problems with it:

 

- he is Asian and has virtually no bridge on his nose to hold them up. A little bit of sweat and they fall off.

 

- he keeps breaking them. He plays rough, especially in soccer, and we have gone through 4 pairs this year already.

 

- we looked into prescription sports glasses and they are $1000 here!!!

 

- we are trying to use a croakie with his regular glasses but with them breaking and sliding down his nose from sweat, the croakie is only minimally helpful.

 

He is quite good at tennis and will be competing a lot so this is becoming a more urgent need.

 

So, anyone have a 9yo that wears contacts? We would get disposables for sure so he doesn't have to clean and care for them daily. Any other ideas I am missing?

[Trish]

My 13-year-old is getting them this year, but lots of kids get them earlier in middle school. I would say the BIGGEST issue with younger kids is the care/cleaning, so if you're using disposables, then I think your only remaining issue is his ability to get them in and out of his eyes. If he's okay with that, I think he's good to go!

[mandymom]

My 12 year old just got them, but the doctor would only prescribe daily lenses for him. That way, he didn't have to maintain them. He just gets a new pair each day. They weren't all that expensive, but more than traditional lenses.

[Joshin]

I started with contacts when I was 11 with no issues. I would start with single-wear disposables and use a good eye doctor that can walk him through putting them in and removal. Removal was the hardest thing for me at first.

[catz]

My 12 year old just got them a few weeks ago and I've been surprised at how easy the transition has been. He loves them! We got the single wear disposables and those are great. Putting them in and getting them out comfortably took about a week but now he's as fast as me (maybe faster!). I might consider letting my daughter who wears glasses getting them a little earlier (maybe 10?). She's a dancer and doesn't wear glasses when she performs.

 

ETA - our children's optometrist says they fit kids as young as 8 in contacts as long as they're responsible and motivated.

[MyThreeSons]

I don't know where you are, but Sam's Club sells prescription sports goggles very cheap -- less than $100. With the wide elastic band, they stay on through anything.

 

Or perhaps one of these safety goggles that are made to be worn over prescription glasses would work. They are not specifically designed for sports, but they may work:

 

http://www.safetyglassesusa.com/fit-over-goggles.html

[Occasionally]

I was 12 when I started wearing regular soft contact lenses and never had a problem with cleaning them. Have you checked Zenni for sports goggles? They seem to run about $30.

[Heather in Neverland]

I don't know where you are, but Sam's Club sells prescription sports goggles very cheap -- less than $100. With the wide elastic band, they stay on through anything.

 

Or perhaps one of these safety goggles that are made to be worn over prescription glasses would work. They are not specifically designed for sports, but they may work:

 

http://www.safetyglassesusa.com/fit-over-goggles.html

 

 

I am in Malaysia. No Sam's Club here. :(

[LaCEmom]

I got them when I was 9 and had no problems whatsoever. I know some people have issues getting used to putting them in or taking them out, but not everyone. After 2 minutes of instruction I was literally good to go. OTOH I remember there being an adult male who was there trying to put contacts in when I walked into the drs office and he was still struggling with them when I walked out the door, hehe. If you can get the dailies especially I wouldn't hesitate to get them for a 9yo.

[Juliegmom]

My 12 year old just got them a few weeks ago and I've been surprised at how easy the transition has been. He loves them! We got the single wear disposables and those are great. Putting them in and getting them out comfortably took about a week but now he's as fast as me (maybe faster!). I might consider letting my daughter who wears glasses getting them a little earlier (maybe 10?). She's a dancer and doesn't wear glasses when she performs.

 

ETA - our children's optometrist says they fit kids as young as 8 in contacts as long as they're responsible and motivated.

 

 

:iagree:

My dd's both made the transition (easily) when they were in the 5th grade. I based their readiness on being exactly this... "responsible and motivated. "

[gingersmom]

I think the biggest issue is can he get them in/out.

 

My 16 year old cannot do it. We have tried and tried.

 

She's sticking with her glasses for now and we will try again in a few years.

[*Lulu*]

We offered them, with the optometrist's blessing, to Punk at age 9.

 

The eye touching freaked him out, so we are sticking to glasses for now, but I see no reason why a motivated 9 yo couldn't handle the single wears.

 

I would mentally prepare to go through some waste the first year though due to dropped/lost contacts.

[catz]

We offered them, with the optometrist's blessing, to Punk at age 9.

 

The eye touching freaked him out, so we are sticking to glasses for now, but I see no reason why a motivated 9 yo couldn't handle the single wears.

 

I would mentally prepare to go through some waste the first year though due to dropped/lost contacts.

 

My husband was very near sighted (my kids have his vision) and he could NEVER get the hang of contacts, and he did try a few times to be fitted. He always wore glasses until he had Lasik when I was pregnant with our oldest. So some people just don't do contacts well.

 

My son's has had contacts for 3 weeks and has only lost 1 and that was the first day. It's gone WAY better than I expected! He gets twitchy if he has to wear his glasses now. But the nice thing about the disposables if they lose one now and then, it's no big deal.

[*Lulu*]

 

 

My husband was very near sighted (my kids have his vision) and he could NEVER get the hang of contacts, and he did try a few times to be fitted. He always wore glasses until he had Lasik when I was pregnant with our oldest. So some people just don't do contacts well.

 

My son's has had contacts for 3 weeks and has only lost 1 and that was the first day. It's gone WAY better than I expected! He gets twitchy if he has to wear his glasses now. But the nice thing about the disposables if they lose one now and then, it's no big deal.

 

Very true. DH has tried contacts a couple of times since we've been married and every time he returns to glasses because he is just more familiar with them.

 

I am the opposite, as I've tried glasses several times in the same time period and keep returning to contacts. I'll have to tell DH that I just figured out another way we balance each other out! :p

[AndyJoy]

My 8-year-old niece wears them for ballet class and piano recitals. It works well for her!

[LaxMom]

My 12 yo got contacts when she was 10 because it was a PITA to find impact glasses approved for lacrosse eyewear and her regular lax eyewear squeezed the stems of her glasses into her head.

 

Buying daily disposable lenses was much less expensive and more functional than buying prescription sports impact eyewear, too.

[Trish]

 

 

I am in Malaysia. No Sam's Club here. :(

 

Oh, so are you Heather Formerly of NC? I'm confused when people change names AND pics!

[Guest inoubliable]

The biggest issue with lenses that I could see would be cleaning/caring for them and the expense. These days, though. disposables are really inexpensive. As long as your kid is responsible enough to take them out every night and doesn't have a problem touching their eye area, I'd say it's probably a good idea. DS12 is going in for a vision check next month. I fully expect that he'll need glasses/contact lenses. We'll opt for contact lenses.

[gardenmom5]

have you checked into online sources for sports goggles/glasses type?

 

I know of ODs who will put contacts on infants with serious eye issues, which do require the parents to do the work. I think nine is too young for him to be in charge of the daily disinfection, but if you take care, making sure they're clean, your hands are clean when inserting them, etc. it can work. you would always have to be there to supervise/do-it-yourself them when going in or taking out. how responsible is he? how cooperative is he if someone is sticking their finger in his eye? or eye drops in his eye?

 

eta: about the Rx itself? does he have any astigmatism? toric lenses are a whole different ball of wax. there is a minimum amount of correction toric lenses can do, and if it's not exact, things are blurry. toric lenses also require more frequent lubritcation as they are thicker.

[retiredHSmom]

My daughters both began wearing contact lenses at 10 with no problems. My son got contacts at 10 but really didn't like them and only wore them for TKD until just last month. Now at 13.5 he is putting them in first thing every morning. I think a lot will depend on your son's motivation.

 

My son also had no bridge to his nose and his glasses were always slipping down (drove my husband crazy). Last year he got big plastic frames with integrated nose pieces and they stay up much better.

[Seasider]

Funny you ask this... just yesterday my dd told me that one of her church friends wears contacts - I think she's 6 years old! This was news to me, and I haven't spoken of it with her mother, but my dd is pretty reliable with this sort of info. Of course now I am curious for more details!

 

Apparently the child is near legally blind without them. She is able to tolerate her mom placing and removing them each day. I think that's key, as another has already pointed out. They are only a good idea if the wearer isn't squeamish and is willing to be a great hand washer.

 

I first started wearing them in high school and love them! I had a classmate who started in the 7th grade.

[LMV]

Our daughter started wearing contacts at ten. I supervised a little just to make sure she was ok with them but she really was fine. She is a gymnast and finds that she has much better spatial perception with her contacts than with glasses. She attributes her bars skill explosion as much to contacts as to all of her hard work. Personally I think it really had more to do with her hard work (and probably a bit of a natural gift to "swing bars") but I'm not about to dispute anything that helps. Trust me, being the mom of an L10 gymnast is not for the faint of heart.

 

Also this thread may be helpful. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/441376-gym-moms-where-do-you-buy-rx-goggles-inexpensively/

** I know it is gymnastics focused but some of the ideas on it might be useful to you if your son isn't ready to try contacts yet.**

[sueh16]

My eye dr. made me wait until my eyes had stabilized, so that my prescription wouldn't change right after I was fitted for the contact lenses, but this was in the days before daily wear lenses were affordable. I was 15 when I got my contacts. I agree with what a few other people said that as long as your ds doesn't have trouble putting the lenses in, why not try them? You can just buy a few pairs to start and see how it goes.

 

Sue

[LaxMom]

 

 

My husband was very near sighted (my kids have his vision) and he could NEVER get the hang of contacts, and he did try a few times to be fitted. He always wore glasses until he had Lasik when I was pregnant with our oldest. So some people just don't do contacts well.

 

My son's has had contacts for 3 weeks and has only lost 1 and that was the first day. It's gone WAY better than I expected! He gets twitchy if he has to wear his glasses now. But the nice thing about the disposables if they lose one now and then, it's no big deal.

 

That's hysterical! MY husband traded his coke bottle lenses for LASIK when I was pregnant with our oldest, too!

 

I wanted to add: we order from Lens.com. They either verify the prescription with the office or you can scan and email the printed one you have once you place the order (just speeds up the process by a couple of days).

[4kidlets4me]

My daughter got contacts at 12. Before that I couldn't be sure she would keep everything clean. Now at 15 she is an old pro at them. The only downside is her prescription still changes every year so any leftover contacts aren't used.

[Jerico]

I started wearing contacts at 12 and wore them everyday (even through my labors!) for 12 years. Then I had to stop wearing them due to constant eye infections. After 2 years off I tried again and tried 4 different pairs (astigmatism and regular) and didn't like any of them- headaches and dizziness... so I gave up and stuck to glasses. The only problem I had at first (and still now, honestly) was touching my eyes. Disgusting. I cried for like an hour when I first got them but slowly got used to it. :)

[janie_ranae]

My ds10 got contacts this past winter. He mainly uses them when playing sports, especially hockey and baseball. He wears disposables. Sometimes I put them in for him, but usually i just hold his eye open (top & bottom lids) while he puts them in. I think there's a lot of flexibility as to how you can get them to work for children.

[garddwr]

My 9 year old wears contacts. Our ophthalmologist said that a child can wear contacts if they are able to put them in and take them out themselves and responsible enough to care for them correctly (i.e. remembering to wash their hands well every time before putting them in/taking them out, rinsing them properly, etc.) They taught her how to care for the contacts and had her practice putting them in and taking them out before sending her home with them. I did have to help a couple of times while she was getting used to them the first week, but she has done everything herself since (I wear contacts myself, which made helping her easier). She wears a type that only needs to be replaced once a month, so she changes them out on the 1st of every month (easy to keep track of).

[Heather in Neverland]

Thanks ladies! I had no idea kids this young can wear them. We are going to make an appointment this week. I am excited about this possibility!