I was intereviewed for an article by Ranit Mishori, MD in her StayHealth collum for Parade Magazine Sunday October 18, 2009

1. r r
The rudy--y,illch
cd. in pm by rrukrrs of ~on
~tayHealthy~l
len e - von't surpri e many
kids or grown-ups who've evu
had to wear g12 e. But the
by Dr. Ranlt Mishori findings do raise the question
of the right age to tart: tense .
When Are
Paren ask me~ Vben can my
child begin using contacts? The
Kids Ready
an r: It depends on the child,
and 8 years Id is not necessarily
For Contacts?
00 1)ung.
~When ru:ccssary. childrol t
F A CHILD WHO
I
nr e can wear contact lens­
ars glasses asks for con­ es." • Dr. Dommick Maino,
tact lenses-perhaps for a professor of pedi:ttri optom­
the not-uncommon reason etry at the Illinois College of
that he or she doesn't like me look Optomeny in Chicago. DJntact
f specracles---tt may not be a bad lense ~uire m work on the
idea to give in. part of the pa .em-keeping
According to a recent report
by researchers at Ohio tate 8-year-old
Uni ersity and the University of
North Carolina, kids who wear
may not be
contacts not only get their 'sion to young
corrected, they also tend to ti d tbem clean. taring them or­
better abOUl th~lve.s. -d., in~g them genu)'.
Th ~-tudv foUo.-al m re than chron I .cal age i Ie impor­
on~iihted hildren, aged 8 Wlt in rn.J.kin this deci . n than
to 11, for thre years. The kid motiv:uion and maturim
in one group ..d-c p1'O';dc:d with Girl.; may be read)' at a young­
contact lenses. while those in an­ er age than boys. S .~ Dr. M.ai ­
omer group received gbsses. The no: "J usually tell parents that
ontacts usen; had higher sari ­ when bo start: to notice girls.
faction s ores related to "physical and when girls can keep their
appearance, athletic competence. rooms clean they may be ready
and 0 ial acceptance." for nOlO lenses,'" me kids a11:
In particular, girls ho wore able to usc them properly with
c ntact Ie e5 rec ived boost in paxwCl supervision and hdp.
overall self-esteem. But Dr. Maino also cautions,
· Parents should not push their
cblld to ,vear conta t len cs. It
mu t ~ the child's idea. They
must be motivated 10 .'e2t thmt. "
Cont2Ct lenses are not with­
out ri ks, ofcourse. Kids hould
not wear them while swimming
or in dusty. dirty environments.
They should not share hem
with their friends. For sports and
i.mi1at activities. they may need
to wear protective goggles ovu
their can
PARADE· O CT. 18. 2009 • PAGE 17