If your child is asking for contacts, you want to make sure they're prepared for the responsibility. Unlike glasses, contacts require special handling, and care, to keep them sanitary, and to avoid additional vision problems. If you've decided to get contacts for your child, here are four things you should teach them about their care.

Never Touch Contacts with Dirty Hands

Your child's contacts are going to go directly onto the surface of their eyes. If your child touches their contacts with dirty hands, the germs and dirt on their hands is going to transfer right into their eyes. Unfortunately, the dirt and germs can lead to serious eye infections, which can harm their vision. To help your child avoid eye infections, make sure they know to never touch their contacts with dirty hands.

Keep Contacts Clean

In addition to the clean hands rule, it's also a good idea to instill the rule that their contacts need to be kept clean. Dirty contacts can wear out quicker, and can also lead to an increased risk of eye infections. To prevent those problems, have your child wash their lenses each night before they go to bed. If you notice that your child is experiencing eye infections on a regular basis, you might want to talk to your optometrist about daily-use contacts. With daily-use contacts, your child won't need to worry about cleaning them because they're discarded after one use.

Don't Share Contacts with Others

Kids love to share things with their friends. Unfortunately, sharing contacts with friends can lead to eye infections. If your child is going to be wearing contacts, make sure they know not to share them with friends; even if their friends have the cool kind that change the color of your eyes. While it might be fun to experiment with different contact lenses, the threat of eye infections is too great to risk it.

Give Those Eyes a Rest

Once your child has their new contacts, they may be tempted to toss their glasses. Don't let them do that. Your child's eyes are going to need a break from the contacts once in a while. Keep a spare pair of glasses on hand, so that your child can still see while they're taking a break from their contacts.

If it's time for your child to wear contacts, use the rules described above to help them keep their eyes healthy. Talk to your child's optometrist about other tips that will help your child care for their contacts, and their eyes.

For more information, you will want to contact a company such as Vision Eyeland Super Optical LLC.