Warm and sunny days are usually spent on going to the beach and doing outdoor activities with the whole family. Protective eyewear and sunglasses are not just for the sake of summer fashion. It could also play an important role to protect your child’s vision during summer months ─ from the harmful effects of UV Rays of the sun.

If you are scheduled to go to the beach or meet some friends at a nearby park, don’t forget to bring a hat, visor, or sunglasses for your kids to prevent their eyes from being exposed to the sun too much.

Wearing eye protection helps block harmful UV rays and prevent development of macular degeneration ─ the two leading causes of blindness among children. Since UV damage to the eyes can increase over a lifetime, you should always make sure that your child is wearing eye protection from the heat of the sun to potentially minimise this damage.

If you haven’t bought an eye wear for your kids yet, here are a few guidelines to help you pick the right eye wear to protect child vision during summer months:

• Sunglasses must block 100% of UV rays to be effective. You shouldn’t assume that the darker the lens, the higher it’s protection against UV rays. It’s not the best indicator so you need to verify this with the sunglasses store.
• Select lenses that are impact-resistant. Polycarbonate lenses are the best for children’s sunglasses. It’s up to 10 times more impact-resistant than the basic plastic lenses and it’s lighter too, which makes it more comfortable to wear.
• Choose large, close-fitting frames. It’s not just for protecting the eyes from UV rays, but it is also a helpful feature that keeps dust and other small debris from getting into your child’s eyes.
• Add elastic bands on your child’s sunglasses to prevent it from being lost or damaged when dropped unexpectedly. Choose a close-fitting band that keeps the frame snugly attached to the head. You can also consider using a looser-fitting strap to help your child keep the sunglasses it hanging from the neck when not in use.

Your child’s vision is important and caring for it doesn’t have to be expensive. There are many shops at malls that offer a wide variety of affordable eyewear that you can choose from. You might also want to consider talking to an optometrist first if you want more information on what is the best eye protection they can suggest before you make your purchase.