Which children’s glasses are right for your child?

Criteria for optimal children’s glasses

If your child has poor eyesight , then this should be compensated for by a visual aid. Glasses are the best option for young children, but contact lenses can also be used for older children. Children’s glasses should of course primarily make it easier for your child to see. But she also has to endure a lot: wild playing and romping with other children, sporting activities and one or the other carelessness of your child. Therefore, you should consider the following points when choosing glasses for your child:

• Glasses for your child should weigh as little as possible.
• It should be strong and durable, but flexible at the same time.
• It shouldn’t pinch, but it still has to be tight.
• Each pair of glasses must be centered exactly. This means that the optical center of the lenses must correspond exactly to the visual points of the eyes. Otherwise headaches, the feeling of squinting or double vision can occur.
• Since your child should always wear the glasses, it is also important that they have a good and consistent fit. She must not slip.
• Your child should not look alienated or disfigured through the glasses.
• Your child should like the glasses. After all, they should wear the glasses every day.

Glasses for your child: glasses

The ophthalmologist will tell you what lens strength your child needs for the glasses. You can then buy them from an optician. When choosing the right lenses for children’s glasses, you should consider the following points:

• The glasses should have exactly the strength prescribed by the doctor so that the visual impairment can be corrected optimally.
• The glasses should be as small and as light as possible . With children’s glasses, the lenses weigh about 10 grams, otherwise they are too heavy.
• However, they must also be large enough so that the child cannot look past them.
• The lenses of glasses for your child should ideally be made of plastic . This makes them lighter and more stable. If the glasses break while romping around, no glass splinters can get into the eyes. However, plastic lenses scratch a little faster.
• Tinted glasses are not useful for children in everyday life because they let less light through to the retina. However, sunglasses for the sunny days are definitely appropriate. It protects children’s eyes from dangerous UV rays.
• Anti-reflective lenses reduce annoying reflections and increase light transmission. In the case of plastic glasses, however, this impairs the resistance to breakage.

Sometimes the lenses of your child’s glasses need to be gradually adjusted so that your child can slowly get used to seeing with glasses. It is therefore possible that the glasses have to be replaced several times within a few weeks. The ophthalmologist and the optician will discuss this with you.

Glasses for your child: frame

There are children’s glasses made of different metal alloys and plastic. A frame made of solid plastic is suitable for infants or small children. When it comes to glasses for your child, it is important that the frame meets these requirements:

• The frame should be as light as possible so that it is not an unnecessary burden for your child.
• It should be as small as possible so that it does not unnecessarily restrict your child.
• The frame should ensure that the distance between the lenses and your child’s eyes is as small as possible.
• The size of the frame is based on the size of the face , the distance between the eyes and the size of the eye sockets of your child.
• At the top, the eyebrows are the limit . They should still be visible, otherwise your child will be restricted in their facial expressions.
• The glasses should end between the eyelid and the cheek and should not rest on the cheekbones.
• To the side, the glasses should end at the temples . If it goes beyond that, there is a risk that your child will easily get caught with it while playing.
• Frameless models are not very suitable for children because they are less stable and break more easily.
• The nose bridge should offer as large a contact surface as possible. This gives the glasses a good grip and the weight of the glasses is evenly distributed. This prevents pressure points or the glasses from slipping.

Glasses for your child: temples

The temples are also an important part of the glasses for your child, because they ensure the right fit. The following points must be observed:

• Soft temples that reach down to the earlobes are best suited for children . They give the glasses a good and secure hold. These hangers are called sports, imperial, spun or link hangers.
• Elastic, straight hangers that are held together with a rubber band at the back of the head are suitable for babies and toddlers .
• The temples on your child’s glasses should fit snugly, but not press .
• There are special plastic caps for the hinges that attach the temples to the glasses. They prevent your child from injuring themselves on the sometimes quite sharp edges.
• So-called spring hinges for attaching the brackets are also recommended. With normal hinges, the brackets can be folded down at an angle of 90 degrees. Temples with spring hinges can also be bent, which makes the glasses even more flexible and, above all, more durable.

Cost of children’s glasses

The cost of glasses for your child depends on the quality, design and equipment you choose with your child. Health insurance benefits for children’s glasses are regulated by law. The glasses are paid for at most up to the age of 18. However, this is done with a fixed amount based on the age of your child and the required strength of the glasses. If the glasses for your child are to have more expensive lenses, you have to pay the amount that exceeds what the health insurance company can do for you.

In principle, anti-reflection coatings and hardening of the glasses as well as high-index glasses are not accepted; these are glasses that are thinner than normal glasses. Sun protection glasses are only paid for children in justified exceptional cases. You also have to finance the version yourself. In contrast to the statutory health insurers, some private health insurance companies offer various additional services and may take on additional services. It is best to discuss the exact costs you will incur with your optician and your health insurance company.

Additional glasses insurance

Many health insurance companies offer policyholders additional glasses insurance. This means that you are generally entitled to a new pair of glasses every two years. Here, too, there are usually upper cost limits or a fixed amount with which the glasses are subsidized. Nevertheless, such an insurance can be worthwhile for your child, because it will probably need new glasses more often.

How to get your child used to glasses

It is important that you give your child a good feeling about their glasses. So your child can accept the glasses as a nice accessory and not as an annoying visual aid.

• Let your child choose the glasses.
• Admire your child’s taste. Emphasize how well the chosen model suits him.
• Don’t blame your child if the glasses break.
• Do not react to the glasses with rejection, but calmly. Show that it is not a problem for you that your child gets glasses, but something completely normal.
• Do not show any nervousness before visiting an ophthalmologist, otherwise this will be passed on to your child.
• Get your child used to the glasses in a playful way.

Maintain a natural handling of the glasses for your child. It is a piece of clothing or jewelry like any other. It is simply put on in the morning, like socks or a sweater. Then your child will quickly get used to the glasses and will soon be happy to wear them because they make it easier to see.