Ouchy, Wouchy, My Eyes Hurt, Momma
What are two things your young children need to wear when they are outside playing?
Hint: the word “sun” is in both of these items.
Sunscreen and Sunglasses
I’ve already written about the importance of sunscreen in 5/30/25’s essay, “Are We Having Fun Yet?” (To read, click on link below.)
Now, sunscreen and sunglasses aren’t the only important things to wear.
Light colored clothing, socks and shoes are also good items to protect feet and body. Hats are a good choice for protecting tender skin on back of necks, ears, and nose. But today’s topic is eyewear.
Sunglasses…
Why do children need them?
They spend more hours out in the sun playing then most adults do.
Increased exposure = increased risk of damage.
Children’s eyes are still maturing-this means their eyes do not do as a good a job of filtering out the harmful UV rays.
What are possible negative consequences?
I mentioned earlier this week; I am my hubby’s eyes and driver as he is having cataract surgeries this month. Damage from the sun’s UV rays long-term can cause cataracts and macular degeneration.
Is this a case of “do as I say not as I do?” No. Not really as there is a family history of cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration. But, I digress…
I had cataract surgery two years ago and I’m six years younger than my husband. I have macular degeneration and have to see a retinologist twice a year. Sigh, despite faithfully wearing sunglasses.
Did I wear sunglasses as a child? Yes, I did.
Did my children wear sunglasses? Yes, they did… most of the time. Except when swimming and we swam a lot.
There is one short-term side effect from too much UV light in the eyes and that is “snow blindness” or photokeratitis. It is like getting a sunburn on your eye.
Sunglasses can protect the very tender “thin skin” around the eye as well as the eye, itself.
What type of sunglasses should you look for?
Your first priorities are durability, especially with young children. Those sunglasses can take a beating.
And UVA / UVB protection. UVA are long length rays, UVB are short length rays.
Wrap around styles are a plus if you can find them in styles your child will wear.
If children have some say about the style of their sunglasses, they are far more invested in wearing them.
Children are notorious for losing or breaking their sunglasses. Help them be better stewards of their eye wear by modeling how to take care of their sunglasses. You may need to do the job for very young children and gradually work on having them take more responsibility.
I have a three-tiered hanging basket in the kitchen. My children would see me come in and hang mine on the edge of the lowest basket. They all learned to follow my example. One would drag a kitchen chair over in order to be tall enough to reach the lowest basket rim.
We also had swim goggles hanging there. So, when it was time to swim the sunglasses got removed and hung on the basket. Then they would remove and don the swim goggles.
If your child is resisting wearing their sunglasses—listen to them, watch them—they will often clue you into what is wrong. Little heads grow, maybe they need a slightly larger size.
Nose pads may be irritating the bridge of their nose, and they need a different design.
Maybe they have just grown tired of a design they loved last year.
Wear sunglasses yourself.
First thing I would do before going outside was grab a pair of sunglasses and put them on, they would follow my example.
Yes, there were times when hats and sunglasses came off when outside, but never when it was full sun, only when our yard was in deep shade.
Living in the woods meant there was a lot of deep shade times outside.
Your children may never thank you for your diligence and the care you demonstrate for their vision. But their eyes will be grateful.
A human, not an AI text generator, wrote this essay.
I am not a doctor, neither do I play one on TV. This is an information only newsletter.
For specific medical advice please see your primary care provider.
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You are so eminently sensible, I love all the tips here Nancy! Have you ever thought of writing a book…so many practical things that new mums would benefit from knowing 😊
Yes to sunglasses and hats - I love being outdoors but don't like the sun on my face. Question about sunscreen - I've read some conflicting information that sunscreen has chemicals that might be more harmful than sun exposure. And some writers have talked about how we have lived for eons before sunscreen, so why now. I'm curious on your take (and yes, I wear sunscreen!)