The best baby sunglasses to protect
vulnerable little eyes.

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Choosing the best baby sunglasses for your infant is an important part of protecting him from the harmful rays of the sun. Unfortunately the harmful effects of long term exposure to UV rays won’t show when your child is little.

Sunglasses for toddlers.

Not protecting the eyes of our children when they are young may lead to cataract, macular degeneration or even cancer of the skin around the eyes later in life.

Actually, many scientists claim that our eyes get 80 percent of their total lifetime exposure to the sun's UV rays by age 18.

There for children should start wearing baby sunglasses from a very early age. You can buy infant sunglasses for babies as young as 6 months.

Don’t think that wearing a baby sun hat is sufficient to protect baby’s eyes. Even a wide brimmed hat blocks only 50% of the UV radiation.

Apart from wearing sunglasses on the beach or by the pool your baby will need the same eye protection for a walk in the park on a sunny day.

More on baby sun safety: Keep baby safe in the sun Baby sunburn Symptoms of sunpoisoning Heat rash pictures Heat rash treatment

Your child's exposure to UV rays increases also where there is snow, at high altitudes and in tropical countries. Remember snow reflects about 80% of the UV radiation.

 

Even the best baby sunglasses do not protect the skin around the eyes. You will need to apply some sunscreen around baby’s eyes as well.

 

 

Tips on buying the best baby sunglasses.

• Look for sunglasses with coverage around the eyes to protect the eyes from all angles.
  
• Choose sunglasses made of flexible and non-breakable materials.
  The best baby sunglasses are labeled with 100%  protection against uvA, uvB and C rays.
  
• Look for sunglasses that fit well. If the sunglasses feel uncomfortable to your baby he will not want to wear them.
• Check the lenses for scratches. With scratched lenses your baby’s eyes have to work harder and this may cause squinting and headaches.

Remember that a darker lens color may feel more comfortable on the eye it doesn’t give better protection. On the contrary it makes your baby’s pupils dilate more and let more harmful sunlight in the eye.

 

What to do when your baby refuses to wear sunglasses.

To begin with give a good example and wear sunglasses yourself.

• The first time you put on your baby’s sunglasses do it outside where it is sunny so he can feel the difference.
  
• Another way is to reward the number of days he or she wears them with a treat or small present.
  
• Tell your child now and then how cool he or she looks with the sunglasses.
  
•  Make a funny collage of pictures with your child wearing sunglasses and hang them on the wall.
  
• Finally when he or she is old enough to understand convince your child of the importance of wearing sunglasses.

Cool baby sunshades

 

Shopping for the best baby sunglasses.

Eyewear for kids is not that expensive. Prices range from $5 to $30. There are just some companies that have added some extra features to make wearing sunglasses more comfortable for babies. Like Adventure BanZ has a silicone nose and brow piece so your baby won’t get any red pressure marks on the nose or around the eyes.

To keep the sunglasses in place they have a wide neoprene elastic strap. The strap is adjustable so your child can wear the sunglasses for a couple of years.

A bit more expensive but certainly one of the better brands is Julbo Looping Sunglasses.Their sunglasses have flexible sides without hinges for maximum comfort. Another great feature is there is no right or wrong way up with the looping reversible frame.
Their baby sunglasses will fit infants from 0 to 2 years old.

Coolibar Cool Shadz have no side frames but use breathable neoprene straps with velcro closures on both sides.

The brands above have 100% UV protection and are tested for lead, phtalates and flammability according to CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act ) guidelines.

 

But in the end it's up to your baby to decide what are the best baby sunglasses. If you find the right sunglasses you will notice that your baby will completely forget he or she is wearing them.