A child’s first pair of glasses can be a great experience! To ensure that its is, our Las Vegas staff will help your child find frames that they feel comfortable with and appreciate. In order to do this, you should understand how glasses fit. To make it simple we shall use the criteria of fit, function, and fashion.
Fit of the Frame
The faces of children are very different from those of adults. Children tend to have smaller noses and a shorter distance from the front of the face to the ear. Bigger is definitely not better in the case of frames as they will tend to slip and slide out of place. Bigger frames will mean bigger lenses. Big lenses are heavy and bulky for a child thus causing them to slide down the nose. To get frames that fit your child we will measure the lens width, the bridge width, and temple/arm length. These three measurements are in millimeters and are often listed in the inside of the temple as XX-XX-XXX.
When your child is trying on glasses, make sure you are at the same eye level when looking at them. The right size lenses always have the child’s eyes centered in the frame both horizontally and vertically. There should be a gap between the frame and the side of the face up until they reach the ear. The temples should both travel in a straight parallel path along the side of the head. If the temples are bowing out, go for a more significant lens width, and if the temples are angling in at the ear, go down in size.
The frame part between the lenses over the nose is the bridge. The challenge with children is that their noses are not fully developed, so they do not have a bridge to prevent plastic frames from sliding down. Use metal frames as they have adjustable nose pads and fit everyone’s bridge. The bridge should not be too tight that it pinches and prevents the glasses from being close enough to the eyes. Go for frames with nose bridges built-up to ensure the lenses sit correctly to cover the entire eye.
Temple widths that extend too far past the ear are indicators of too large frames. The whole point of a fit temple is so that when the child sits and lies back the earpiece will not bump the surface and shift the frames. If going for a bent earpiece, ensure that it does not go past the bottom of the ear. You could also go for temples that wrap around the back of the ear as they completely prevent the glasses from sliding down. Although costly, you can go further ahead and search for temples with spring hinges as they can flex outwards from the frames without causing any harm. They are a worthwhile investment as they prevent frequent adjustments and costly repairs.
Function
It's simple, if the glasses fit well, they probably function well, but there is more. Children’s lenses should be made of polycarbonate or Trivex as they are more impact resistant, safe, lightweight and more comfortable. They have built-in protection against potential damage from UV light.
For sports active children, provide sports goggles that have polycarbonate lenses to prevent them from an eye injury. Sports goggles should have larger vertical eye opening.
Fashion
Fit and function are critical. There are not as many choices on the market for Kid's fashioned frame design as compared to adults. It is important not to choose fashion over function but at YESnick's optical you are sure to find a fashionable choice that meets all eyewear criteria. Besides chances are, if the glasses fit and function correctly, they already look adorable.
