Contact Lenses for Children: Safety, Benefits & Considerations

Technically, a child's eye can handle contact lenses at a very young age. Even infants are fitted for them due to unique eye problems at birth. The ability of your child to wear contact lenses depends on factors like maturity and responsibility. In fact, contacts can actually be a good thing for your kid. They are good for playing sports, help with nearsightedness and help with self esteem.

Sports

• If your child plays sports, it can be hard to wear glasses during contact sports. The glasses can break and can fog up or mess with your child's vision, depending on the weather. Contact lenses don't cause these problems. In fact, they stay stable on the eye while your child is playing sports.

Nearsightedness

• It's a controversial topic, but it's been found that wearing contact lenses can help reduce nearsightedness in kids. According to AllAboutVision.com, the way the contact is fitted to the eye can help reshape the cornea and can reduce nearsightedness. Further research is needed to determine if that is the case.

Self esteem

• Some kids are self-conscious about wearing glasses. They simply don't like the way they look in them. If that's the case, contact lenses can help. But, it's up to the individual child. Some may love how they look in glasses, but it's nice for the other to have the option of wearing contact lenses.