We got some polarisable glasses for our 5 yo kid recently (he’s worn glasses from a very early age and needed a new pair). The optician suggested it and we thought we’d give it a go - mainly on the basis that having a separate pair of perscription sunglasses is a nightmare for a 5 yo, we always end up losing them / not finding them (polarisables also seem to be making a comeback in general in the UK, see quite a few people wearing them nowadays).
As far as the sunshine goes, they work brilliantly, and it’s probably a good thing for him not to be squinting through normal glasses when it’s bright outside. For social interaction, though, I’m not so sure - they look a bit odd at times. Does anyone have any experience to share in this regard?
I guess it comes down to not being able to see someone’s eyes affects how you interact - it’s most noticeable when the glasses are slightly darkened, where you don’t expect to see someone wearing sunglasses (inside a house, say).
Social interaction for a 5 yo boy seems to mainly consist of running around and shouting, so it’s likely not a big deal right now. As he gets older, though, I’m minded to switch him back to normal glasses. Anyone ever wear glasses like these when they were young?
In the US - I’m only familiar with it (polarized) being a static type of sunglasses (that doesn’t vary) that uses a series of very close together parallel lines to achieve the effect. It helps to reduce glare in some situations.
I used to wear color-changing lenses and the only problem I had was with a color-based analysis in college, which I didn’t see well with the lenses on. If they’re dark enough that the eyes can’t be seen, then there’s too much light (and that’s got nothing to do with whether you’re indoors: my blinds are all lowered right now because otherwise there would be too much light).
Yes, it’s true. They’re activated by UV light and your car’s windshield blocks UV light. When I drive, I put a pair of clip-on amber lenses over my regular ones as they don’t darken when I’m in my car.
I’m only ever a passenger in cars, but that’s correct. Sometimes I roll down the window and attempt to darken them that way, which isn’t particularly effective.
Two of my kids have them. I was checking at dinner, and their lenses looked fine to me. (Although I didn’t look too hard, since neither of them clean their lenses very well or very often.) They were barely a little bit darker than plain clear glass, and I could see their eyes with no problem.
Do light CFL lightbulbs make them darken at all? We have incandescent bulbs in our chandelier.
I had a pair for a while in high school, and I did find them a little socially awkward. They didn’t change back fast enough when I came in out of the sun, so I often looked like I was wearing sunglasses. Eventually I went on a youth group trip to Israel, and the hot sun there permanently discolored them.
I do occasionally miss them. Since my eyes are extremely light sensitive (one of the reasons I got the transitions in the first place), I sometimes have to switch back and forth between my prescription glasses and my prescription sunglasses 10 or 20 times in a day.
I think they are probably perfectly fine for a 5-year-old. He’s a glasses-wearing kid anyway, which always looks slightly awkward, so I don’t think the sunglass effect will be that much more of an issue. You can always switch him back if they don’t seem to be working for him.
I’ve had them since they became available, probably over 20 years. Love them for general wear. The earlier ones did not change as fast as the latest version does. They do not change much, if at all, in a car, so I keep sunglasses available. They are also a little inconvenient for photography as the dark lenses can make it difficult to view camera settings.
I’m a young(ish) adult (OK fine, I’m 32), and I’ve worn photochromic lenses for like 6 years now. My experiences.
I like them. I used to have to have a pair of prescription glasses, and carry around a pair of prescription sunglasses. Annoying. Just one pair is great.
They don’t get quite as dark as regular sunglasses, even in full blazing sunlight. Not a big deal.
They don’t work in cars. Your typical car windshield blocks UV which is required to bump the molecules in your plastic lenses to opaque. This is the biggest downside to photochromic lenses, hands down. But I doubt your kid is driving much ;D
In my experience, the people who think of them as “old” or “dorky” are the people a generation or two older than me - think gen X and up. The reason is pretty simple, IMO. When these things first came out (as “transitions”!) all the commercials were of old people enjoying them. These days, they’re pretty standard issue. They’re covered by most insurance (UV damages the eyes over time, prevention is better than treatment) and they’re just damn useful. I’ve never run into people my age or younger that thought they were dumb.
They work pretty damn well these days. Time from translucent to dark - seconds. Same in reverse. In cold weather it’s a bit slower, but still nothing to worry about. Maybe 10 seconds longer to transition.
All in all, I’ve had them for years now and I will continue to get them, no matter what. It’s just useful - walk inside, walk outside, the extremes of brightness are mitigated, and you are protecting your eyes. Plus you see better when you’re not fighting bright sunlight. There are different colors you can get for the darkened state, just be sure to match them to your frames (i.e., don’t get brown photochromic lenses with black frames)
I had them when I was a kid and loved them – sort of a portable magic effect. Never got any abuse about them, but that was decades ago, and I’m sure bullying fashions change. They were a little irritating entering a dark building from the outside, since they took a few minutes to change.
Stopped wearing them about the time I learned to drive, because of the “not working in cars” problem other have mentioned.