Alexander has worn glasses since he was five months old. I know there will be a million questions about how you get a five-month-old baby to wear glasses. I’ll address that another day, but in plain and simple terms: you just do. When your child needs to see, you find a way to give them vision.
When Alexander was seven he started asking about contact lenses. His doctor promised him that at nine he could get contacts. At eight and a half Alexander started nudging me to make his eye appointment.
We practically ran to the appointment a few days before Alexander’s ninth birthday. He had the standard exam and then the ophthalmologist came into the room with a packet of daily wear contact lenses. She sat Alexander down in front of a mirror and showed him how to put in his lenses. Then it was Alexander’s turn.
It was a dismal failure. The three of us were so tense I wouldn’t have been surprised if the walls were shuddering. I was sitting on my hands waiting for my son’s success so I could hop up and clap. Success was not on the horizon. Lining up a contact lens with an eye that’s out of focus is a really tough thing to do for an adult, for a nine-year-old boy it’s near impossible. I sat wondering if it’s any easier for girls who have previously played with makeup.
After watching Alexander try and fail at least two dozen times I asked if I could put his lens in. The Doctor seemed unsure, but I explained to her that I was with Alexander every morning of his life and that I’d be happy to help my son in the mornings.
It’s not easy to put a contact lens into someone else’s eye. It’s really tough when you have no experience with your own eyes. I’m sure a doctor of ophthalmology will guide you through this, but here’s how we did it every morning with my son’s right eye.
How to Put A Contact Lens In Your Child’s Eye When They are Under 10
- Wash and dry your hands (truly, more soap is better!)
- Stand slightly behind but next to him
- Use your left middle finger to hold the top eyelid just above the lash line pressing gently
- Put the contact lens onto your right pointer finger (be sure to check that it isn’t inside out)
- Use your right middle finger to pull the eye down from just below the lower lashes – you are applying similar light pressure as you have with the top lid.
- IMPORTANT: tell your child to breathe and open their eyes
- Quickly pull the top lid up and the lower lid down while using your right index finger in a rolling motion to press the lens onto the eye. I have had the most success rolling from bottom to top
- Wait a beat or two before letting your child blink as the contact comes to rest
For many months we had a pattern. I’d put his lens in each morning (Alexander only wears one) and he would remove it every evening. There have been a few stumbling blocks (one massive one in New York that I will post about later) but for the most part, he really loved not wearing his glasses, and I was able to pop the lens in with ease.
After a few months of this we told Alexander that it was time for him to put in his own lenses. I wanted him to not get too frustrated (as we had at the doctor’s office) so I started by talking to him about it each morning for almost a week. Rather than just popping the lens in I’d say, “Now I’m pulling your eye open…” and I’d really talk him through each movement. After about five days of this I asked him to take a turn. He dropped the lens, he tore a lens, he pressed too hard and the lens flipped inside out. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Alexander got frustrated and we put it on hold until the next day.
This was a mistake that I’m cautioning you against making. We were smarter the next morning.
The next morning I had Alexander try three times to get his lens in, after three tries I went ahead and popped it in for him. We repeated this every day. By the third day Alexander had success, but it wasn’t consistent. There are plenty of mornings that he’s too frustrated to get the lens in himself, and it’s absolutely critical that I go ahead and put it in for him calmly, and that I remind him that I don’t always get it right the first time.
For the past month Alexander has put his own contact lens in every morning without needing any help. It’s been mostly stress-free and a very real lifestyle improvement for him.
I’d caution parents to only use disposable (one day) lenses. We did have a two-week lens for a day. Yes, one day, it fell out and was lost forever. An expensive little lesson.
Thanks for this!
I had the hardest time with this–I was 13–but my fear was of touching my eyeball. Then one day I put it in and it was still blurry: I was trying to put in a contact that had fallen off my finger. So I touched my own eyeball, the sky didn’t fall and I was never afraid again.
That’s awesome. I got my own contact lenses in 5th or 6th grade after getting glasses in 4th. I adore my contacts but I feel bad for him freaking out. It’s hard enough to choose the right side to put in, much less stick it on your eye.
Plus the dry eye issues, peeling it off your eye, and the panic you feel when you think it’s stuck in there forever. Not fun but I’m sure he LOVES not wearing glasses!
I wore contacts for 20 years. I remember the first few times it was a nightmare getting it in. I was a little bit older than Alexander. Once I figured it out it became very simple. If I hadn’t had LASIK I’d still be wearing them.
I have worn contacts for about 15 years (since I was a teen). My sister started working at Disney when she was 17 & had to put contacts in to turn her blue eyes brown. She brought a pair home for the weekend and her biggest issue was blinking before it got in…then b/c it wasn’t all the way on…blinking it out.
One little trick I used to help her…was to put a little drop of liquid into the lens before she tried to put it in. The lens will want to stick to the wettest surface…which thanks to the liquid, will be your eye! Use a very dry finger, I used my re-wetting solution to put a drop of liquid into the lens…then pop, it’s in the eye. :)
Once I put them in first thing…then went out for the day. I got my nails done for the first time in a long time. I went to work, got home at 2am…and realized I couldn’t get my lenses out with the longer nails!! I had to wake my brother up…I peeled my red, teary eye open (I’d initially stabbed myself in the eye)…and he squished it out. “Maegan, please never ask me to do that again.” Lol…I went back to the salon next morning (I could get them in fine enough)…and had the nail tech shorten my nails. :)
Wow, good job, Jessica! You’ve handled this so well, and I’m so happy for Alexander and his newfound ability to handle this important daily self-care on his own.
My toddler wears glasses and may someday wear contacts so this was very interesting to me. Growing up, I had a friend who wore glasses when little and started wearing contacts in fourth grade. She got up extra early to put them in using what she called ‘a little plunger-thingee.’
The plungers are for hard lenses only. I remember friends having those,
apparently not necessary (or even workable) with soft lenses.
I’ve been wearing contact lens for about 20 years. I remember first time having to put them on. It was a very frustrating time lol . Would take me about. 20 minutes to put in. Now I just pop them in in seconds. My daughter who is 10 years will have some soon. Her eye Dr. Recommended them.I keep reminding her that the first time she puts them in will be a challenge.
Thanks for sharing this! I have an 8 year old and we’ve tried over 10 times and spend roughly 8 hours trying to get a contact on his eye (between me, his eye doctor, her assistant).
He always either blinks, clenches, moves his face away, pushes me away RIGHT as I’m about to make contact….I am hopeless. Any suggestions? We’ve talked, i;ve encouraged, we discussed his fears…and yet nothing seems to work
I’m seeing this so late. How did it go?
I think I’d just try once or twice in the morning and if it didn’t work out I’d try again the next day. It’s not the right move for every kid and if it becomes anxiety provoking I don’t think I’d want to start each day that way.