Groms Need Glasses Too: Protecting Your Kids’ Eyes

According to Dictionary.com, a grom is the Australian and Californian slang term for a young surfer. Also known as grommets or gremmies, these original “cool kids” are surfers, skaters, and outdoor adventurers under the age of 16 -- and like their older counterparts, groms need glasses too.

Why do people need sunglasses?

As fun as time in the sun is, we all need to take steps to protect our bodies from its most harmful rays. In the same ways that UV rays can burn our skin, they can also affect our eyes. The National Eye Institute identifies the sun’s UV rays as a leading cause for cataracts, macular degeneration, and pterygium, three eye conditions that can lead to partial or full blindness, astigmatism, and other degenerative eye issues.  

Why do kids in particular need to protect their eyes?

Because children are still growing, their bodies are naturally at a higher risk for sun damage. And yet, how often do you see kids wearing sunglasses at the beach, in a sunny playground, or at an amusement park? Not often enough!

Because the skin around the eyelids and eyes is more vulnerable than adult skin, kids under the age of 10 are already at a high risk for the skin and eye damage that results from overexposure to UV rays. 90% of skin cancers are caused by UV rays, and the damage grows over time -- the sooner we start protecting our kids’ eyes and skin from the sun, the less of a chance they ever have of developing skin cancer or other harmful conditions.  

What kind of protection do sunglasses offer for kids?

Aside from their fashion-forward capabilities, sunglasses put a layer of protection between your eyes and the sun’s harmful rays. The lenses of sunglasses are designed to block out UVA and UVB rays without impacting your vision. Did you know that the color of our eyes has an impact on our risk levels for UV damage? Kids with blue eyes are at a higher risk for UV damage than kids with brown eyes -- and sunglasses that block 99 to 100% of UVA and UVB rays can protect them all.

Polarized lenses in particular, like the ones in these Polarized Round Sunglasses, offer an extra level of protection, since they are designed to reduce the glare from water, snow, glass, and other reflective surfaces. Think back to the last time you took your kids skiing, surfing, or fishing -- if they weren’t wearing sunglasses, how much of the day did they spend squinting? A pair of children's UV protective sunglasses can fix that.

What can Bomber Eyewear do for my kids?

At Bomber Eyewear, we’re proud to offer the GROM line, designed especially for kids with active lifestyles. This design is perfect for smaller faces, and offers polarized lenses to protect from glare along with our trademarked floating frames. Now, your grommets can do what they’ve always done -- putting “the big kids” to shame with their skills -- and keep their eyes protected the entire time.

Protect your kids’ eyes with the GROM line today of children's UV sunglasses, available in Smoke Black, Tortoise Brown, Green Mirror, Red Mirror, and Ice Blue Mirror!