Sunnies are more than a fashion accessory to cover up a tired face after being up and down to your new bub or after a night of cuddle wrestling your toddler.
If the right ones are worn, they will keep you as well as your kids’ eyes protected from SUN DAMAGE. Whenever you’re thinking, ‘Hmmm, I should be using sunscreen‘ you should be applying sunglasses too. As parent, you should be aware that kids start accumulating that sun damage just as soon as there’s exposure. Kids wearing sunglasses is an important thing. Plus, kids in sunnies is, super cute.
Children are in the sun more than the average adult. On average kids sun exposure is three times longer and with eyes being 10 times more sensitive to UV light than skin it is just as important to wear kids sunglasses as it is sunscreen. Then if we consider kids eyes have larger pupils and clearer lenses, allowing up to 70 percent more UV light to reach the retinas than an adult’s eyes, there is no arguing that sunglasses need to be a part of children’s daily outside play routine. Sunscreen + Hat + SUNGLASSES! The Science of Sunglasses.
Sun damage to the eye is linked to serious problems such as macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the industrial world, as well as cataracts (cloudiness of the lens) and pterygia (benign growths on the white of the eye, which can end up blocking vision). Research has also found that spending five or more hours outside every day in the summer during your teens and early adult years could increase the risk of developing macular degeneration by up to 50 percent.
So how do you choose the right sunglasses for your little buddy?
Which kids sunglasses are the best?
- 100% UV Protection
- Close fitting or teamed with a cap
- meet Australian Standard AS 1067:2003 for sunglasses.
It is important to only buy sunglasses that provide 100% UV protection, or UV400 protection, (same thing). This means that the glasses protect eyes from both UVA and UVB radiation which is the damaging part of sun exposure. Polarised Lenses reduce glare at the beach, in the snow, or out on the water. But they don?t take the place of UV protection. Don’t be confused and loose focus on the main two points of coverage and complete UV protection.
It is the UVR-absorbing properties of the lenses that provide the protection and not the colour of the lenses, so dark sunglasses are not necessarily more effective at protecting the eyes from UVR than lightly tinted sunglasses. In fact darker lenses with less than 100% UV can be hazardous. Your pupil, the black dot at the center of your eye, controls how much light gets in. When you wear darkened lenses, the pupil opens more to let in more light. If your sunglasses aren’t rated to block UV rays, you might let even more into the back of your eye.
It is important to make sure baby sunglasses, toddler sunglasses & kids sunglasses are as protective as ones for mum & dad. Sure, there’s a cool factor at play here. But when you slip on your favourite pair of shades before you go outside, make sure to pop them on your little buddies too – every time you go outside – there’s more going on than just a nice look.
References: World Health Organisation (WHO), UK charity Eyecare Trust, Cancer Council Australia, WebMD, American Academy of Ophthalmology & Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA).