By Cathy Ives, The Optical Vision Site, April 25, 2013, with permission

I receive the daily e-blast from theopticalvisionsite.com. I thought that this was an especially important one for all of us when talking with mom about their kid's outdoor eyewear. With permission, we add it here to the Opticians Handbook.—Mark

We are coming into heavy sun season and one of the most important products you should be stocking is sunwear for kids. Somewhere I just read that while 73 percent of adults wear sunglasses, they don't think that sunglasses are important for their kids, because only 30-44 percent of kids wear sunglasses.

WHAAAT! Let me ask you, do you bring up kids sunglasses with your patients? Do you stock kids sunglasses? If not, I would recommend you copy and paste the below information, rewrite it in your words and post on your website and Facebook pages.

1. The lens of the child's eye transmits about 70 percent more UV than the adult eye, putting their retina at a larger risk.
2. The cells of the lens of the eye are never replaced; the proteins of the lens are never replenished. The lens cannot repair itself; damage accumulates over a lifetime. Therefore, the earlier kids wear sunglasses, the less damage later on in life.
3. Kids under 10 are at a higher risk for both skin and eye damage, because their skin and eyes are more fragile.
4. Children are outdoors much more than adults, therefore is likely that over 1/2 of their life exposure to the sun will occur within the first 20 years of their life.
5. Very bright sunlight – reflected off sand, snow, water or the pavement – can cause immediate damage to the cornea,
6. Kids look up more, which means they are constantly looking up into the sun.

7. It is up to adults to train their kids on the damages sun can do. Like wearing seatbelts, not touching hot stoves… Children can be taught about sunglasses, but only if they have sunglasses.
8. When children's eyes get sunburned, unless it is severe, they will not feel the pain as they do with the skin. The warning signs are not so obvious.
9. The long-term effects of sunburned eyes are cumulative and not completely reversible. The cataract, pterygium and macular degeneration, melanomas of older age likely begin with childhood UV and blue light exposure.
10. Hats only protect from above, not below, where reflected UV from water, sand or concrete can do a lot of damage.
11. With ozone depletion occurring as much as 12 percent per year in certain parts of the world, our children are at greater risk of UV than we were growing up. We must protect our children's eyes more than we protected our own.
12. The variety of sunglasses for kids makes them easy and comfortable to wear. Quality sunglasses and offer 100 percent UV and blue light protection,
13. Sunglasses are cool… and fun