sunglasses for toddler

[samstress]

i'm looking to get my daughter a pair of sunglasses. dh and dd walk to school together every morning and when papa puts on his sunglasses, dd says "where are my sunglasses?"

anyway, something i thought would be pretty easy to find, is becoming quite an ordeal. here are my requirements:

-no characters or such. seems that places like target and the like only have children's sunglasses covered with princesses, hannah montana, disney, high school musical, etc.

-suitable uva/uvb protection. a lot of the ones i'm finding (especially the ones that are more for girls) tend to say only "minimal" or "average" protection.

-no strap. she had a pair of these when she was an infant, but i would like some that will actually sit on her ears.

-nothing too pricey.

i know, it's a tall order. has anyone found anything like this?

[Bea]

Originally Posted by samstress

i know, it's a tall order. has anyone found anything like this?

No.

It doesn't exist.

Suck it up and buy a pair of UVA/B protective character sunglasses and expect to repeat the process every 2 months when they get lost

[HappyFox05]

I had a pair we bought at the beach that had no character, no strap, probably minimal UV protection (I can't remember), and they actually fit on her face. It was October, so they were something like $0.99. DH eventually lost them, not DD, lol.

I've read several good reviews of these.

[GISDiva]

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/...oductId=535669

We've had good luck with these. Until we lost them.

[Down2Earth]

I bought a couple pairs of sunglasses at The Children's Place. They were maybe 2/$6 or something like that. No characters, just solid colors with some tiny rhinestones on the corners. I don't know about the uva/b protection, it is probably minimal. But I figure it is better than nothing for right now.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

ds has some from children's place that are just green. he has some we got at a thrift store that are plain black from gymboree I think. We thought we had lost both pairs (have now found both) and I saw that Rite Aid had tons of kids sunglasses last weekend (which is good to know because often they only sell them in the summer) I don't know if they only have "minimal" protection or not, because I figure they have more uva/b protection than no sunglasses which is what he typically wears.

[kcstar]

Several years ago, we bought one with a strap but no characters, at Target for DS. It was too big for him then, but he likes to play with it now. He doesn't like to wear it for very long, I think the strap holds the glasses a little close to the eyes for comfort, but since I wear glasses he likes to copy me.

(He calls my glasses "Saa", his word for "sunglasses")

[samstress]

thanks for the suggestions mamas! didn't even know where to look, now i have some ideas.

[River's mum]

I totally recommend the Julbos. They fit really well and the strap comes off if you like. Excellent protection and super cute. Plus, you can wear them upside down and it's exactly the same as right side up. Well worth the price, but we've had ours for almost a year. About time to size up.

[Okapi]

Not sure what your definition of "too pricey" is, but we have had these for DD (just turned 2) for at least 6 months. She loves them (which I'm assuming means they are comfortable). They have 100% UVA protection, and are polarized and shatterproof.

ETA: If those aren't her style, you can click the "Kids Sunglasses" link at the top, and there are several others w/ the same specs (polarized, UV protection), but different styles.

[samstress]

Originally Posted by River's mum

I totally recommend the Julbos. They fit really well and the strap comes off if you like. Excellent protection and super cute. Plus, you can wear them upside down and it's exactly the same as right side up. Well worth the price, but we've had ours for almost a year. About time to size up.

i ended up going with these (thanks happyfox for the suggestion). hoping they work out.

Originally Posted by Okapi

Not sure what your definition of "too pricey" is, but we have had these for DD (just turned 2) for at least 6 months. She loves them (which I'm assuming means they are comfortable). They have 100% UVA protection, and are polarized and shatterproof.

ETA: If those aren't her style, you can click the "Kids Sunglasses" link at the top, and there are several others w/ the same specs (polarized, UV protection), but different styles.

oh, no, i never even thought to check REI. and we have one locally (and i'm a member). DUH! i will definitely go there next time i need a pair. and, no,$10.00 is definitely not "too pricey".

[Past_VNE]

I know the OP has made a decision (I'm headed to an REI to try Julbos myself. DD has BabyBanz right now.) but I wanted to point out something to anyone reading this thread.

Cheap sunglasses are worse than no sunglasses. Why? They cause the pupils to dilate, by darkening the scene in front of the child, but they provide no or little protection, so the child then gets much more UVA/UVB penetration into the eye than they would with no sunglasses on.

If you're going trying to protect their eyes, make sure you aren't doing more harm than good!

[emmalizz]

.

[MamaPhD]

Originally Posted by Past_VNE

I know the OP has made a decision (I'm headed to an REI to try Julbos myself. DD has BabyBanz right now.) but I wanted to point out something to anyone reading this thread.

Cheap sunglasses are worse than no sunglasses. Why? They cause the pupils to dilate, by darkening the scene in front of the child, but they provide no or little protection, so the child then gets much more UVA/UVB penetration into the eye than they would with no sunglasses on.

If you're going trying to protect their eyes, make sure you aren't doing more harm than good!

[lunarlady]

We get DD sunglasses at Gymboree. They are 100% UV blocking, and have cute designs (stripes, lady bugs) but no commercial characters. They are about $8 US.

[brooklynbabymama]

we live in a stinkin hipster neighborhood with some ridiculously cute baby boutiques. we got these for $10. i think they're AJ Morgans.

if you need good quality lenses, i see child ray bans online for around $60.

[cmnewbs]

We got a really sweet pair from Gap. only $8.50 and on the site it sys they have UVA and UVB protection. Lots of suggestions here, I hope you've found a pair that works!!