Advances in lens technology provide special benefits for children. Kids are active, they're hard on their lenses, and they're very self-conscious about their looks. Kids who wear thick glasses are an easy target for the taunts of other kids. When it comes to glass and conventional plastic lenses kids with strong prescriptions have the unsightly "coke bottle" or the "bug eye" look. HYPERINDEX® 1.66 lenses by Optima can change all that. Gone are the unsightly edges and optical distortions. The advanced aspheric lens design allows crisp, clear vision from edge to edge. This new material, with a 1.0 mm center thickness, is the thinnest lens available for the best cosmetic appearance. Also lens weight is reduced by 50% over conventional (ordinary) plastic and 80% over glass lenses. The result? Lighter lenses that won't slide down your child's nose or cause pressure points. HYPERINDEX® 1.66 lenses are amazingly light so your child has a degree of comfort never before possible.

For older children, such as teenagers, when their appearance is so important to them, the crystal clear optics of these lenses minimize the effect of glasses and the thinner edges will make your child look better and feel better about themselves.

Certain pediatric eye conditions, like accommodative estropia and binocular dysfunctions, require treatment with bifocal lenses. No line bifocal lenses, like Optima's HYPERVIEW® 1.66 progressive lenses, provide all the therapeutic benefits but with two big differences - there's no "old grandpa" bifocal line for other kids to make fun of, and there's a whole new intermediate focal range for better vision. Your child can have the maximum comfort of 1.66 high index plastic lenses with the optical superiority of Optima's HYPERVIEW® 1.66 progressives.

Contrary to what you might think, new high index plastic lenses are actually five times more impact resistant* than conventional plastic and glass lenses. Now that's a comforting thought for any parent whose child wears glasses and has a strong prescription. These children can really benefit from thinner and lighter lenses. Optima's HYPERINDEX and HYPERVIEW lenses far exceed the safety standards for impact resistance as mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the American National Safety Institute.

For children with low to moderate prescriptions polycarbonate lenses which have even greater impact resistance* may be a better choice. Polycarbonate lenses, however, do not have the optical and cosmetic advantages or as much scratch resistance as Optima's HYPERINDEX® 1.66 lenses. NOTE: Always be sure to discuss your child's lifestyle and lens options with his/her eyecare practitioner before making a lens choice.

*Note impact-resistant lenses are not shatterproof or unbreakable.