The Reliable Truth, Sunglasses The Good And The Bad

At a recent baby expo a young mother told me she will only buy cheap sunnies for her children. Her reasoning was that all sunnies must pass the compulsory sunglasses standards. And therefore they are all the same. And as her children are rough they will only break them. So, in theory all sunnies should be good. But in reality that is far from the truth. Here we will teach you about sunglasses the good and the bad.

It is incorrect to believe that all sunnies are the same. What she did not realize. Is that all world sunglasses standards are only the minimum requirements needed. So that no major harm occurs instantly to the eyes. (Maximum protection to protect eyes is not a requirement). So many sunnies that pass world standards. Can still cause trouble leading to blindness. And many sunnies simply do not comply. (See our latest sunglasses “WARNINGS” on this page).

Harmful kids sunglasses now flooding the market.

Unethical businesses have worked out a way to make total crap lenses that certainly will harm your child’s eyesight. And definitely will lead to blindness. How did this happen? Especially when here in Australia we have the world’s very best sunglasses standard. Simple. The standard was written by ethical people who who would never have thought that someone would want to harm children. By making really soft distorted lenses. Therefore no sunglasses standard in the world mentions or bands this crap.

So now your kids certainly are at risk, especially if you already own this rubbish or are about to unwittingly buy this crap.

UV protection limitations

Even the world’s strictest sunglasses standard, AS/NZS 1067.1:2016 from Australia. Can have as low as 0% UVA protection depending on the lens category. And general purpose sunnies with category #3 lenses. Can pass the standard with only 91% UVA protection as the following table shows. Note, that both the EU and USA standards are worse as they neglect all UVA radiation from 380nm to 400nm. So always avoid both the EU and USA sunglasses in Australia and overseas. Especially for young children.

Note: Please don’t presume that darker lenses automatically cut more UV radiation. It is possible to make a CAT #4 lens with no UV protection. This type of lens will only lead to blindness.

For young children. The minimum UV requirements are just not good enough to give maximum protection. The problem is sunglasses lenses are dark and this causes the pupil to dilate or open. And any UV rays that pass the lens then enters into a wide open eye. Therefore to stop nasty UV related eye diseases at a young age. Total UV protection is needed. Eye diseases like cataracts, pterygium, actinic & droplet keratites, pinguecula and macular degeneration. See why in this blog: How UV damages eyes.

Easily broken sunglasses permitted 🕶️👎

What this mum also did not realise. Is that currently there are no requirements for manufacturers. To use materials that will not break easily or lenses that scratch. And cheap materials do break and scratch. I have even seen sunnies at discount stores, markets and pharmacies. Broken while on display even before kids wear them.

Note that scratched lenses are extremely bad for the eyes as they cause a blur in the vision. And whenever a blur occurs in the vision the brain sends a small signal to the eyes ciliary muscle to adjust. Of course the blur remains so more signals are resent. Once the small ciliary muscle wears out you have no choice but to wear prescription glasses.

So, yes some kids are rougher than others but giving them sunnies that break easily will not help. She may as well just put her money in the bin. Because that is where these so-called cheap sunnies will be in short time. Saving her nothing in the long run and even worse they will damage her child’s eyes.

Lens colour, no requirements

In all world sunglasses standards. There are also no requirements on lens colour and this is a critical misstep. (The reason for no lens colour requirements for young children’s sunnies. Is due to the original standards being written. Before we made the world’s first baby sunglasses in 1987. Kids sunnies were included in later editions of the standard. But with no additional requirements that are essential, like lens colour).

We know that 10% of boys and 2% of girls are colour blind. And the incorrect coloured lens for these kids only compounds the problem. Many parents will be quick to say that their child is not colour blind. But unless you have had them tested there is no other way to know.

Only one colour lens gives maximum clarity and glare protection. In addition to being safe for colour blind kids. This is the G-15 lens, and you should only buy sunnies with these lenses for your children. “G” for neutral green and 15 for 15% light transmission. Which falls under category #3 general purpose sunglasses.

Unfortunately the two most commonly used lens colours in sunnies are grey and brown. Grey is never great for clarity and affects some colour blind kids. And brown is reasonable for clarity but useless for glare protection. And adversely effects the largest number of colour blind kids.

Sunglasses the good and the bad

So how do you buy a good quality pair of sunnies that will protect eyesight. That will last without breaking easily and not cost a fortune?

Firstly don’t rely on review sites. They certainly don’t know what they are talking about when it comes to optics. And we have read some real rubbish on these sites. Secondly they only review products that pay them a commission or fee. And we certainly do not waste your money on these junk reviews. That’s why you never see our products on these review sites. Instead we give you high quality sunglasses. At or below the cost of our competitors cheap junk from China.

Instead try reading. Our Critical points to look for when buying baby – toddler sunglasses this will help. But buying sunnies is a difficult thing to get right. We do test many branded and non-branded sunglasses. And only a small number pass what we classify as good quality.

Our recommendation – Sunglasses the good and the bad 🕶️👍

I can say with certainty that only Idol Eyes Australia has made baby sunglasses since 1987. When we made the world’s first baby sunglasses. We also have a history in optics starting in 1950. Currently we have sunglasses for every stage of your child’s growth from 0 yrs to late teens. And our sunglasses are always reasonably priced. So every child will be properly protected.

We do receive many reviews from happy customers from all around the world. Saying that they only trust the Idol Eyes Australia brand. And they continue to buy our sunglasses as their children grow into that next size. Or for more kids as their family grows. We are also grateful for the many customers who have recommend our products. To their family and friends.

At a baby expo in Brisbane we had a new mum come to our stand with her daughter in a pram wearing a pair of our baby sunglasses. The baby looked really cute. I was then told by the mum that the sunglasses were the pair that she wore when she was a baby. Now that really is high praise.

Myths about sunglasses. – As seen on many websites by those with no experience in optics.

• All sunglasses will protect eyes. No, totally false. Some will actually harm eyes and lead to blindness.
• All sunglasses must pass compulsory world sunglasses standards. True. But all the sunglasses standards are self regulated. And to save money a staggering 90% of cheap brands are never tested before going to market. Our testing shows a large proportion of these sunglasses do not comply. The authorities who do random in store checks don’t even have the testing equipment. So they can only check if the correct labeling is applied. Unfortunately having the correct label does not always mean the sunglasses are safe.

All parents need to know about this. So please like this post by clicking on the like (thumbs up) button below. That certainly will help more people see this important information. Thanks.

If you are ready to buy the best the best baby or kids sunglasses. That will truly save sight. Without a ridiculously high price, then take a look at our online shop.

Don’t miss the latest sunglasses “WARNINGS” on this page. They will save your child’s eyesight.

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