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Over the years working in eye care, one of the most overlooked things is prescription sunglasses for children. It was rare whenever parents would inquire about prescription sunglasses for their children. It might be due to kids not caring about the fashion aspect of sunglasses.
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Where To Buy Prescription Sunglasses For Children
However this shouldn’t be the case, children’s developing eyes should be protected from the harmful UV rays from the sun. There is a lot of scientific evidence that shows exposure to UV rays can damage your eyes. 
Prevent Blindness America has recommended everyone to wear sunglasses with UV protection to help protect their eyes from the sun’s harmful rays, and yes this includes children as well.
What are UV rays?
UV or also known as Ultraviolet light is a type of electromagnetic radiation that radiates off of the sun. UV rays arrive from the sun to us in various wavelengths. UV wavelengths are between 10 to 400 nm and are not visible to the naked eye. There are three types of UV rays.
- UV-A – There are much more UV-A rays than there are of UV-B rays, about 500 times more. These rays can damage your central vision, along with parts of your retina.
- UV-B – Although there are a lot less UV-B rays, these rays are the ones that create the sunburn on your skin. Therefore it is just as important to protect yourself from UV-B rays as UV-A.
- UV-C – There are actually the UV rays that carry the most energy. Good thing for use these rays do not make it through our atmosphere. They use UV-C rays to sterilize surfaces and disinfect water so you can just see how strong the energy is in these rays.
What kind of sunglasses do children need?
If you are looking to purchase prescription sunglasses for your children than you will be already getting them the correct lenses that they need. The prescription sunglass lenses that they would be getting will already be blocking 100% of UV-A as well as UV-B.
If your children do not wear prescription sunglasses then you would look for any sunglasses that block 100% of both UV-A and UV-B. Also for children, the sunglasses should be made out of polycarbonate lenses which is the most impact-resistant material. Sunglasses for children should never be made out of glass lenses, children tend to be more active so polycarbonate is the safest and best choice for children. 
When you are picking out some prescription sunglasses for your children whether it be in a store, or online make sure you ask them if they want to choose which frames they like. For younger children who tend to care less about the fashion statement of the glasses, letting them pick the glasses with their favorite cartoon character on them, or in their favorite color might help them wear them more.
Older children and teens will also benefit from picking out their own glasses. Older children will put more thought towards the fashion statement of the glasses, so let them pick the ones they really want and the likelier they are to wearing them.
If you are purchasing non-prescription sunglasses for your children, when you receive them, make sure to check the quality of the lens. You can check the quality of the lens by holding the glasses away from your eyes, and find a good straight line such as a door, or window frame. When you look through the lenses, if the quality is good the line will still be straight. If you find that the line you are looking at through the glasses look distorted than you have poor quality lenses. Remember this is for non-prescription only, prescription lenses will seem wavy due to the prescription if you are looking through them.
Benefits of wearing sunglasses for children
We all know if you send your children outside in the sun all day without sunblock on what the consequences would be later in the day, sunburn. If being in the sun all day without protection does that to your skin, what do you think the sun is doing to your eyes? Overexposure to UV rays could create short-term as well as long-term effects on your overall eye health. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits.
- UV Protection – This is already the most obvious reason. Being exposed to UV rays over time could lead to the development of cataracts, growths on your eyes, and photokeratitis. This is especially important for children, who are particularly vulnerable to the sun’s rays due to the ocular lens not being mature. Which means the young ocular lenses can’t filter UV as well as adults, this causes damage to the retina.
- Blue Light Protection – Recent studies have shown that blue light can be toxic. sunglasses will help protect you against some of the blue light emitting from the biggest blue light producer, the sun. Children these days are already glued to smartphones, tablets, and other handheld devices so it is good to just reduce blue light exposure as much as possible.
- Reduces Risk of Cancer – Although not commonly talked about, you are able to get skin cancer on your eyelids if they aren’t protected from UV rays. Having children wear sunglasses that completely cover their eyes will reduce this risk.
It is important to remember to have your children wear sunglasses if they are outside between the times of 10 am to 4 pm, when the UV rays are the strongest. It is extra important to have them wear sunglasses if they are participating in any water sports, hanging out around large bodies of water, or went to the snow in the mountains. Sunlight reflecting off of snow and water could cause much more damage than sunlight alone, therefore it is important to have sunglasses on whenever participating in any of those activities.
The best place to buy prescription sunglasses for children | SmartBuyGlasses.com
After looking through many different collections of children’s sunglasses, the best place to purchase prescription sunglasses for your children is over at SmartBuyGlasses.com.
They have nearly 200 sunglass frames that you are able to get with a prescription for your children, and over 250 sunglass frames for children overall. If you don’t need the sunglasses with a prescription you are able to purchase them like that without a prescription as well.
WHO ARE THEY?
SmartBuyGlasses is a company that was founded in 2006 in Australia. Its founders were eyeglass wearers and were frustrated with the optical retail experience. They felt like the retail experience was so limited by their selection, so they saw an industry that was inefficient and knew that one day it would transition online.
WHAT FRAMES DO THEY CARRY?
SmartBuyGlasses actually has quite a nice selection of prescription sunglasses for children. They have in-house frames, as well as many top designer brands for kids. These brands include Ray-Ban Jr., Nike, Carrera, Polaroid, Lacosta, and much more.
WARRANTY
This is another reason why SmartBuyGlasses is my pick for children sunglasses, they offer a 24-month warranty against all manufacturer defects on their glasses. Not only that, but they also offer a 100 days full refund policy if you are not happy with the glasses for any reason.
Final Thoughts
It is good to get children into the habit of wearing sunglasses while they are young. This way once they are older, it will already be a habit for them to put on sunglasses when they go outside. Having your children wear a wide-brim hat when they are outside in the sun could potentially cut the UV exposure in half.
Looking for sunglasses for babies? Check out my pick for baby sunglasses here
Do you have your children wear sunglasses? Why or why not? Let me know below! As always thank you all for reading and if you have any questions, or comments don’t hesitate to drop a comment below and I will get back to you as soon as it can.
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I’ve always found it very curious that the sun would be damaging. I know that unnatural blue lights are harmful to our health, but the sun is a natural source of energy and light.
Hey Huy,
Thanks for providing useful information about sunglasses for children. I was not aware of the harmful effects of UV rays and they are strongest between 10 am-4.00 pm.
Also nice tips on polycarbonate lenses and wearing wide-brim hats.
Regards,
Jivita
Hi Jivita thanks for stopping by. i am glad that you found the information helpful!
Thank you, I can’t imagine how the sun has even effected my own eye’s now. Afterall I better take action now. I appreciate you pointing out the different uv rays. These are all important to take note of.
Hi Brandon, thanks for stopping by. The sun definitely affects us all and sadly there isn’t more awareness raised about the dangers of being in the sun without proper protection.
Wow hard core stuff. This was an eye opener for me due to I have tow boys and we live in a country where the sun can be very intense some days and we are a very outdoor family. I never know eye wear for kids was this important so thank you for the lesson today.
Hi, Genecia I am glad you found the information helpful. Children’s eyes are particularly at risk and definitely, need to be protected.
Hi Huy,
I never thought about prescription sunglasses for children. Mine have the gradual darkening when I go outside, and think this would be great for children as well.
I agree that they should be asked which frames they like, and that it will help them wear them more.
My 3 1/2 year old Granddaughter doesn’t go out without her sunglasses, she is so used to them she gets them herself!
Thanks for the helpful information.
Patsy
Hi Patsy, that is great that your granddaughter is so accustomed to wearing sunglasses, it is a great habit to develop. Thanks for stopping by!