How to Help a Child Put in Contact Lenses

I have two girls who both ended up needing glasses. Each one eventually started bugging me for contact lenses. My older daughter started wearing them at 12 (6th grade). My youngest daughter has just started wearing them in 5th grade, at age 10. As a parent it is up to you to decide if you think your child is responsible enough to take care of the lenses. It is up to the Optometrist to determine if your child can physically wear them. Most importantly, it is up to the child to be able to insert and remove the contacts easily. Most offices won't prescribe contacts for the child unless they can comfortably put them in and remove them 2 times in front of the optometrist.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A well lit bathroom or area with mirror. Sufficient counter area to place solution and case.
• This will be the place where your child faces the mirror and puts in the contacts. It is the child's work area.
• soap
• hand towels
• paper towels
• mirror

1. 
    
   contacts hang onto the tips of your fingers

   Have the child wash his/her hands thoroughly.
   Open contact well, remove the lens for the right eye and place on tip of right hand's pointer finger. Contacts adhere easily to the skin and should stay in place. If your child is left handed than I don't know what you would do, maybe reverse it?

2. 
    
   Open eye wide! It makes it easier

   With left hand' s pointer finger gently raise right eye's eyelid while pulling down lower past of eye with right hand' s middle finger. This effectively opens the eye area and prepared the eye to accept the lens. The more open and still the lids, the easier to place the contact.

3. Contact will still be perched on the edge of the right hand' s pointer finger. Gently press contact onto eye ball. This can be done quickly and requires no pressure onto the eye. The contact again will adhere easily. Have the child blink and determine if the contact is in place. They will be able to feel whether it is or not. Take a bit of the solution and have the child re-wet their eye once the contact is in. This allows the contact to moisten and feel comfortable in the eye.

4. 
    
   Happier without glasses!

   Remove left contact lens from case. Again the lens is placed on the pointer finger of the right hand. The lids are lifted using pointer finger of left hand for upper lid and middle finger of right hand pulls the lower part of the eye down. Proceed as in previous step. Lens should adhere right to eye ball. Blink and re-wet. Both lenses are now in and you have a happy child.

Tips & Warnings

• I found that if there is a will there is a way regarding contact use. My older daughter wasn't in a huge hurry to wear contacts and she still alternates alot with her glasses. My youngest daughter HATES her glasses and begged and pleaded for contacts. She was determined to wear them and she knows she must take care of them or I won't buy her anymore.
• Contacts aren't really that expensive (depending on the prescription). I spent about 35.00 for a 2 month supply including saline and cleaner. Many times the optometrist' s office will give out free products. You could probably order them even more cheaply online.
• Your child will probably get frustrated the first few times trying to get the contacts on. Stay calm and patient. If necessary reschedule your appointment and go home, relax. Bring the child back another day. Sometimes they can't put them in right away, it is slightly difficult until mastered.
• Never let your child fall asleep while wearing the lenses.
• establish a routine with the lenses and never let the child take them out anywhere other than the designated area (where the contacts are kept and where they are installed). A lost lens is aggravating and expensive.