Photos Provided By VCA

There is no disputing the fact that parents want what is best for their children. It is also true that what is best often means what is safest. Children are told not to talk to strangers because it isn't safe. We don't let children cross the street alone because it isn't safe. We pay attention to age guidelines on toys with little pieces because they aren't safe for smaller children. And when little ones take to the playing field, they are checked and double-checked to see that the various pads, guards, mouthpieces, and goggles are firmly in place.

So when a parent brings his or her child to select a pair of daily-wear eyeglasses, shouldn't it be reasonable to assume that safety will be a chief concern and that the "safest" frame will be the easiest sell? Believe it or not, it seems most parents don't ask about the safety features of their children's dress frames.

"I rarely have a customer come in and say, 'Show me a safe dress frame for my son or daughter,'" states Gary Knighton, vice president of product for Knighton Optical in Ogden, Utah. "They are more likely to say 'My kid is really hard on his glasses. I want something that will last. Sell me a strong frame.'"

Despite the apparent infrequency of the safety question, the assumption would still be reasonable if it weren't for the fact that a frame is not considered a safety frame unless it has been tested against and has met ANSI standards. And for children, the only frames that meet these requirements are designated sport or activity specific.

"With the notable exception of polycarbonate lenses, which are all but standard in children's eyewear, there are no other bona fide safety components to a child's dress frame," Knighton adds

Without a verifiable designation as a safety frame, how do optical retailers convey the safety concept to their kid's eyewear customers?

SAFETY=DURABILITY=VALUE

According to Carolyn C. Fierson from Walter F. Fierson, M.D., Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, in Arcadia, Calif., "You can address the relative safety of any frame by speaking in terms of 'levels' of safety. Although absent a specific set of guidelines, it is absolutely true that certain materials are stronger, more durable than others, and that certain features--like spring hinges--add to the overall wearability of a frame." Fierson does acknowledge that "outside of the performance eyewear arena, safety becomes something that is rather subjective, but children cannot wear safety/sport frames all day long. Aside from the fact they are bulky and unattractive, they can cause serious infection if worn too long."

VCA/BVI spokesperson Rene Soltis adds, "to complicate the sale even further, parents and children are rarely looking for the same thing when they approach the optical retailer. Kids want style and comfort and a frame that will make them look good, while parents want a good value for their money and a durable frame--one they won't have to bring back for adjustments every couple of months."

Photos provided by VCA

This combination need of wearability and durability provides the perfect stage for retailers to differentiate product through a process of feature-advantage-benefit presentations stressing improved safety as a reasonable 'side-effect' to certain frame characteristics.

From both the retailer and consumer perspective, materials are segmented by their perception of being durable, fashionable, trendy, delicate, or all of the above. Monel, stainless steel, titanium, and flexible metals, along with traditional children's plastics each have a set of characteristics that contribute to their position on the scale of safety levels. If a parent is more comfortable with a frame that looks durable--in addition to being so--monel and plastic are excellent choices. For parents and children interested in the lighter or barely-there frame, stainless, titanium, and flexible materials are leaders. And features like spring hinges and even cable temples for very young children also add to the "safety factor."

"I always tell my parents who come in saying 'I can't believe my child has to wear glasses' that they should consider themselves lucky," Fierson continues. "The majority of eye injuries happen to the children who don't wear glasses--such as the by-standers of a playground fight, or the kids who get caught in the middle when pencils get thrown across a classroom."

With approximately half of all eye injuries occurring at school or at home, what was once the absolute antithesis of cool for a school-aged child is now not such a kiss of death. In fact, with all the celebrities and teen icons sporting eyeglasses these days, as long as the look is right, even the playground set is in-tune to fashionable and statement-making eyewear.

READY...SET...GO

Another consideration is that children have a significantly more active lifestyle than most adults, with a responsibility level--in most cases--inversely proportional. Features like impact resistant lenses and spring hinges, when combined with the benefits of flexible materials, titanium, and stainless steel, create a daily-wear frame as "safe" as possible without being a safety frame.

Dispensers should also keep in mind that since dress glasses are not appropriate as safety wear for the variety of activities most children participate in, there is a natural opportunity for a multi-pair sale that will include an actual safety/sport frame.

Whether or not safety is in the forefront of every one of your children's eyewear sales, "when fitting children," says Soltis, "retailers should always offer frames of the highest quality construction with features that enhance the longevity or durability of the frame. Styles should always be from manufacturers with a good, solid history. They should also educate parents to the fact that the best thing they can do for their child is not compromise.

"Eyeglasses are expensive," concludes Soltis, "but choosing a lesser quality product can create safety issues, while inadequately treating a child's vision problems can, in the long run, be even more costly."EB