Just because your child wears eyeglasses doesn’t mean that he should be left out of team sports like baseball, basketball or soccer or individual sports like track and field, skiing or swimming. Thankfully, many eyeglasses are intended for use in sports, it is just a matter of picking the appropriate frame.
Baseball Glasses
Because baseball and softball aren’t contact sports, kids can wear wraparound prescription eyeglasses or sunglasses during a game of baseball. According to the All About Vision website, a lens with a large vertical eye opening is optimal, because if the child is hit in the face, the frames will impact him above and below the eye. Lenses should be made of polycarbonate, rather than plastic or glass, because it is the most impact resistant of lens materials.
Basketball, Football, Soccer and Contact Sports
Choose a pair of goggle-type eyeglasses with a head strap for contact sports. These eyeglasses should also feature temple pads and a pliable silicone nose bridge to lessen the blow if a child is hit in the face. Again, these glasses should feature polycarbonate lenses.
Skiing and Snowboarding Goggles
Nonprescription ski and snowboarding goggles fit safely over regular glasses. The lenses of the everyday glasses should be made with polycarbonate in case of an impact that dislodges both the goggles and the glasses.
Prescription Swim Goggles
Swimming doesn’t have to mean poor vision for a child who wears glasses. Many companies now offer swim goggles with general prescriptions that can help your child see while she is in the pool and see you cheering in the stands when she gets out. In order to get an exact or complicated prescription, you will have to have goggles custom made. However, goggles with common prescriptions are available on the Swim Outlet website.