how old were your kids when they started wearing contact lenses?

[bhoffman]

My daughter got contacts when she was 8 years old. She completely takes care of them herself and has not had any problems. She is a competitive gymnast and the glasses just weren't working for her flipping around. She is completely responsible with them and has had them for over 2 years. She puts them in and removes them and has never had a problem, even the first time she put them in / out. She is not very squimish though!

 

[toobie75]

Just curious if you can go straight to contacts or if you have to try out glasses first. My 15-year-old needs to get her eyes checked (tested 20/40 at her last physical). She plays rugby and glasses are an absolute impossibility with that. I don't want to have to worry about her taking her glasses off to play and possibly misplacing them or breaking them. Plus I'm afraid she'll get in the habit of just not wearing them because she's pretty set against them as it is. She would be willing to do the contacts though.

 

[RachaelA]

I started wearing mine in 6th grade. They were soft lenses. I had trouble the first few days getting them out, but other than that it was fine. I was pretty much blind without glasses so contacts were great.

 

[KY*Figment]

I was 12 when I got my first pair of contacts. I'm now 36. I have a back up pair of glasses then and now. My kids are 8 and almost 6. I would allow them to wear contacts at 10 if they needed them because my kids are already far more mature than I was when I was 8 and 6. It's all in maturity.

 

[sallysue66]

DD11 was 8. They taught her how to get them in & out at the Dr. but she did have mornings that she needed help, and occasionally still does. I had frustrating mornings with them myself when I wore them as an adult. Sometimes the contacts just don't want to cooperate! But they are worth it IMO, and DD would not go back to glasses for anything.

 

[Sadie22]

With contacts you need backup glasses, so it's not an either/or situation. Youngest got them at Age 18. He put them in easily on the first try. Due to his prescription he had a different type in each eye and dailies were not an option. He had monthlies which he needed to clean and remember when to change to a new set. During high school he was just too busy, but before college had time to get used to doing all that. He said he could see much better with the contacts than glasses.

The funny thing is he had a summer job which required working outside with chemicals and could not use contacts. He got out of the habit of wearing them and now seems to prefer glasses again.

 

[momejay]

I have a 16 year old that has been wearing contacts for about 3 years. She is the most irresponsible child & used to loose or break her glasses constantly. (She lost her glasses so often the man at the eyeglass place knew her prescription without looking it up! I got smart & had the "irresponsible child" insurance. They replaced 4 pairs a year for free.) I found out it was because she hated wearing the glasses. I told her if she could keep a pair of glasses for 6 months without trashing them. I would allow her to try contacts.
We tried the contacts & she lost the glasses so she wore the contacts constantly. She ended up with an infection of the eye & couldn't see out of her right eye for a long time.
I think she has learned her lesson & she now wears contacts to school & for sports. She takes them out at dinner time at home & puts them back in if she is going out. On the weekends she lets her eyes rest & only uses her contacts when she goes out.
Talk to the eye doctor see what he/she reccomends.

 

[Irin997]

I got contacts at around 12 or 13 and used to wear the ones that were supposed to last a whole year and needed weekly enzymatic cleaning. I actually did very well with all of this. About 5 or so years ago I finally switched to bi-weekly lenses and wore Acuvue 2's.

Last summer, for whatever reason, my eyes decided that they absolutely did not like the bi-weekly lenses, became extremely irritated, and I had to switch to dailies. I LOVE the daily lenses. I HATE the price. I used to pay, after rebates and my insurance reimbursement, about $20 a year for the Acuvue 2's. Now, the best price I can find on my dailies was about $300 for the year plus I get $50 of that reimbursed by my insurance company. It's worth it tough. I love to be lazy with them. I don't even have to get out of bed to take them out.

 

[maraki527]

My whole family wears contacts. I started wearing contacts at the age of 12. My niece has watched all of us with our contacts and she got them at 8 and is doing great with them.

 

[branv]

Add me to the list of people who got contacts at about 12, and my nieces got them at 11. I remember that when I first got them, I used to have to get up early the first few weeks b/c it would take me so long to finally get them in Of course, that was back in the day when you had to go through all kinds of ridiculous steps to clean the suckers! Forget disposables, which sound like a great option allowing for younger people...wish we'd had them!

I would imagine the hardest part for a younger child to learn is being able to tell when they're inside out if they aren't a brand with the little marker. I've been wearing contacts for 25 years and I still have problems telling now and again. At least now I know as soon as I put it into my eye, but a kiddo may not realize that's the reason the contact feels all loosy goosey. My other big problem as a kid was screwing on the lid and pinching the contact, tearing it. Did that like 3 times, and was it an expensive lesson for a non-disposable lens.

 

[CC12005]

Just curious if you can go straight to contacts or if you have to try out glasses first. My 15-year-old needs to get her eyes checked (tested 20/40 at her last physical). She plays rugby and glasses are an absolute impossibility with that. I don't want to have to worry about her taking her glasses off to play and possibly misplacing them or breaking them. Plus I'm afraid she'll get in the habit of just not wearing them because she's pretty set against them as it is. She would be willing to do the contacts though.

Check with your doctor. Yes, if she needs them and is old enough they can usually get contacts right away, but you will also need glasses as back up. For a slight prescription 20/40 she will probably only need reading glasses. No contacts would be necessary for sports. The doctor will let you know.
For a previous poster who said the internet is cheaper. Not always true. My husband's optometry office is usually the same price or lower than the big internet contact companies (we are priced very low) and with rebates that are offered only if you purchase from an optometrist with an exam, many times lower. Depends on the office pricing, but ask first. You may save money by going local.
I always find it funny at our office when people assume we are more at 1-800 Contacts and don't believe me when I say we are lower. But believe me I check. They have high advertising overhead, we don't. So remember to check local first.

 

[Sadie22]

The same son who got contacts at 18 but now in his mid-20s doesn't wear them as much used to break glasses frames often as a child. Thank goodness that the shop where we purchased would replace the broken frames at no charge. As the previous poster said, local shops are often more economical than the big chains, Internet or not, but you can't replace the service from a local shop. I've often gone in for adjustments such as screw tightening for my glasses. The nonscratch coating has scratched and they've replaced it, replaced nose pads, etc.

 

[MSSANDRA]

DS was 10 and I wish we had done it WAY sooner. He was a premature infant with lots of eye issues and had glasses at 6mo. When we went to contacts at 10 it was like a whole new world. He could see so much better and get rid of the really thick glasses. He needed a little help putting them in at first but was able to take them out from the start. He did great at caring for them as well. There was an infant at his doctor that had contacts at less than a year so it can be done. For cosmetic reasons you might choose to wait as younger kids tend to go though them a little quicker and it can get expensive .

 

[sk!mom]

No parent experience but as a teacher I've had many students start wearing contacts in 4th grade- age 10. Almost all have done great at that age. Not sure how much some parents may be helping at home but I've rarely had a student who had any issue with them at school.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Well, we TRIED to put DS14 in contacts last month but it didn't work very well.

We went to the opthalmologist's office for training and DS HATED the contacts. I think the way the lady was telling him to hold his eyelid open was confusing him. He tried for about 30 minutes, then he said he was done. He wanted no part of contacts, he wanted to go home. So we went home.

I think part of it is that he was very tactile defensive when he was younger, and this process was too much for him. His glasses don't bother him. He has never lost or broken a pair, he always wears them, so there wasn't a NEED to move to contacts. I just thought with him going to high school in the Fall he might want contacts. If he wants to try again we will, otherwise I will just leave him alone.

 

[lori123]

So glad to see this thread! DD10 has been wearing glasses since about 20 months and really wants contacts. She also has strabismus and a very strong (+7.5) prescription. Hubby and I think she is responsible enough - we just might have to give it a try!

 

[mommyaof2]

My oldest dd started wearing contacts at 8. She is very responsible though. She could see so much better with her contacts. We decided to let her at such a young age because she is a dancer and it was really hard for her to do some of the dance moves without her glasses falling off. My youngest dd however is 8 now and I wouldn't even think about letting her get contacts yet! She is a tomboy big time and there is no way she would take care of them. So, I think it really depends on how responsible the child is for their age. Kids do have to really take care of them though or they can get nasty eye infections, so keep this in mind too.

 

[Chelley00]

DS was 11 when we let him get contacts. We had always said 13, but he was playing goalie in soccer and I too many broken glasses. He was told if he didn't take care of them, take them out every night etc they were gone and he was back to glasses. We've never had a problem.

 

[tinkarooni]

This is a timely thread for us. I took DS11 almost 12 to an appt this week to be taught how to put them in and take them out. He was so excited to get them. We got there and they sat us at a table in the optical dept which is essentially in the middle of the waiting area. So I know exactly what happened, he felt like every body was watching him, and he couldn't get them in. He tried three times and was embarassed and gave up, he refused to try anymore. I was so surprised because he's been begging for them for months. I came home and told Dh and he too was kind of surprised they sat him in the middle of everybody to try to teach him. All these folks waiting for their appts were watching him. Now I'm not sure what to do. He gave up so easily and has been upset about it for days. DH says a new doctor.....we also have the problems with sports, he broke a pair of glasses two weeks ago at soccer, he got hit in the face and has a little bruise too.

 

[Taja]

I was 12 when I began wearing contact lenses. In those days, all we had were hard lenses, and we weren't allowed to wear them to school until high school (10th grade for us--9th grade was part of "junior high"). Not sure what they thought we would do, but those were the rules!

At age 12 I was prescribed reading glasses along with my distance vision glasses--or bifocals. Never could adapt to the bifocals, so my parents let me try contact lenses. I also was involved in intensively in ballet, so the contacts allowed me to see while rehearsing and performing. Glasses were okay for class, but they didn't work well in rehearsals and were impossible for performing!

My optometrist and his assistant were terrific in working with me. They drilled the care and feeding of contact lenses into my head very well! To this day, I always wash my hands thoroughly--including under the nails--before inserting or removing my contact lenses or handling them for any reason. *LOL* Others laugh at me, but I never have had an eye infection or scratched a lens. Lost one, yes. And they do become worn (RGP--rigid gas permeable) and scratched over time, but usually I can wear a pair of lenses for two years--thankfully my prescription doesn't change very much. Then I purchase a new pair and the old ones become "back-ups" that I wear about one week per month--just in case I ever lose one of the new ones!

Everyone is different. Most of the young people I know today get their contact lenses in high school. Most are not sufficiently mature to handle them before age 15 or so.

Edited to add:

Apart from back-up glasses, it's also necessary to learn to allow a bit of extra time in the morning for the contact lenses. My BFF gets very annoyed with me, as I allow about 30 minutes to insert my lenses in the morning and allow my eyes to adjust to them. Not everyone needs to do this, but it's a good idea to plan for the contingency. My BFF is my travel buddy and just jumps out of bed ready to rock and roll when we're on holiday! *LOL*