Children do surprisingly well with contact lens wear.

We are talking about children aged 8-12 years of age, and studies show this group of youngsters do as well as their teenage peers in managing contact lenses. Studies found some positive outcomes. Children in one study reported improved self perception in terms of their physical appearance, their athletic competence, and their social acceptance.

What about safety and hygiene?

Here children also do well. It is widely understood they will take a little bit longer to master handling contact lenses, and we will review the handling and care instructions more often, and more carefully with children. But their problem rates are not higher than the teens.

Cost and commitment?

We will fine tune the pricing once we know the exact contact lens prescription, but re-usable soft disposable contact lenses start from $3 per day, and daily disposables from $2 per day. This includes appointment fee and contact lens solutions (where appropriate) and eye drops.

Cost per day goes down in the second year as fewer appointments are needed.

For new contact lens wearers there are usually several appointments needed. Firstly to fit and teach you how to insert and remove and care for contact lenses. Then follow up visits after one week and one month. For more information see our FAQ page.

Would you like to hear a second opinion? Dr Kate Gifford is an Australian Optometrist and Researcher with extensive experience fitting children with contact lenses. She is a gifted communicator too - in this video she talks about children and contact lenses.