How old can a child be to start wearing eye contacts?

Question

My son is 10 (wears glasses) and wants contacts. Is this to young? Can someone tell me what the norm is as far as children and wearing contacts?

Answer 1

Even newborn babies can be fit with contacts. Fitting contacts to a child is no problem for the eye doctor, patient compliance is a problem and the doctor will want assurance that you will be monitoring your son's contact lens wear. Contacts need to be inserted, removed, cleaned and stored daily and it has to be done properly; they must not be worn when the eye is irritated and they must be disposed on schedule. Hands must be washed before handling. Can you trust your son to do this or are you willing to supervise?

The question for you is how much responsibility do you want to take for them and how responsible do you think your son is? And do you want to totally pay for them or does he have an income source like a paper route to share the cost.

Discuss these issues with your son, so the two of you agree on the ground rules beforehand. .

And get your son's contacts from his eye doctor or a certified fitter, do not use the internet or low cost big box retailers. You want to assure his eye health.

Answer 2

I was 14 when I started wearing contacts, but it really depends on the child. Is he responsible enough to handle the care of the contacts? If not, he could end up with eye infections.
My honest opinion? 10 is probably too young. I would say 12 or 13 at the youngest.

Answer 3

I was 9 when I started wearing contacts, I didn't have a problem, my brother was 15 when he started wearing them and never took care and developed all sorts of eye infections, so I think it depends on the child more than the age

My optomitrist said that kids are actually generally better at taking care of them than people who start wearing them as adults. He also said he even started a few when they were 7 and I think they did fine. The doctor will explain very clearly how to use them and what will happen if he doesn't take care of them correctly.

Answer 4

Do you think he's mature enough to take care of them? He'll have to care around his contact case and his glasses just in case something happens. My parents gave me mine for a high school graduation present, but then let my sister get them at 16. The contacts are a big responsibility. They need to be cleaned every night, kept in solution, etc. Hope that helps!

Answer 5

I really dont think there is a norm. It depends on how mature the child is and is able to take care of things. Babies receive contact lenses sometimes, but thats different. You will need to watch over him and make sure he keeps his hands clean when he is removing and inserting, cleaning, making sure he puts the left in the left, right in the right.

Answer 6

hi
there are limitations due to irresponsiblity in taking care of lenses in small age and also the physical growth of the eye can result in improper fitting of the lens. also kids eyes are too sensitive to catch an infection, so u cant risk them wearing contatcs.
there are a whole lot of do's and dont's which are to be followed if u wanna wear lens. a mistake can result in to unwanted damage so i wont advice a child of 10 years to go for lenses.
at least he should be 15 to wear lenses and be a little mature for learning the handling.
till then make him a habit of wearing glasses. its must, no need to be shy.
i m a qualified optometrist runnin my own optical shop.
if u have any doubts contact me on [e-mail]

Answer 7

Contacts come with a big responsibility. Its not what most people do, but It depends on if you think your son will be able to take care of them. I got my contacts the year i started highschool.