Children may need glasses for several reasons—some of which are different than for adults. Because a child’s visual system is growing and developing, especially during the first 5-6 years of life, glasses may play an important role in ensuring normal development of vision. The main reasons a child may need glasses are:

• To provide better vision, so that a child may function better in his/her environment
• To help straighten the eyes when they are crossed or misaligned (strabismus)
• To help strengthen the vision of a weak eye (amblyopia or “lazy eye”). This may occur when there is a difference in prescription between the two eyes (anisometropia). For example, one eye may be normal, while the other eye may have a significant need for glasses caused by near-sightedness, far-sightedness or astigmatism.
• To provide protection for one eye if the other eye has poor vision