We're sure you've seen those cute little red heart-shaped sunglasses for kids at the store before, and it's also pretty likely that you thought, "Aww! Those are too cute!" Well, we're right there with you! But did you know that even though those sunglasses had a dark tint that doesn't mean they would protect your little lady's eyes?
"Whoa...hold the front door. You're saying that it's not necessarily the color of the lenses that protects our eyes?!"
You got it! While the tinted lenses help our eyes see more comfortably outside, what really matters is whether the lenses have UVA and UVB protection. For kids even more than adults, making sure their sunglasses (and regular glasses!) have 100% UV protection is crucial to the safety of their eyes.
"Children are more at risk for retinal damage from UV rays because their pupils are larger and the lens inside the eye is clearer, which enables more absorption of UV radiation into the eye."1