Gifting children glasses at Christmas – why ever not?

The gift that keeps on giving

They might not be the most obvious gift, but they have to be one of the most useful by far. The holidays are coming and according to research by Mastercard, 16% of French people started shopping for Christmas as far back as September! Why? To spread the expenditure over several months and give themselves time to find the perfect gift that no one would want to return or regift. Shopping for children can be far less complicated, given that they usually know what they want after leafing through the toy catalogs and watching all the adverts on television and on tablets, etc. High-tech gifts in particular are proving very popular with children. We can try to keep them from staring at screens as much as possible, even if that is increasingly difficult. Protecting their eyes in the best possible way means regulating their access to tablets and other screens, not to mention taking children to the opticians for glasses if you suspect there to be any problem with their vision. According to a 2015 study by the Directorate for Research, Studies, Assessment and Statistics (DREES) that makes recommendations to the French ministries of social affairs and health, “the proportion of children who do not wear glasses but suffer from short-sightedness (myopia) amounts to 10.5% on average”. More than enough to make you think that some nice glasses might not be half bad an idea for children, alongside their other gifts. Options including Spider-man, Frozen, Hello Kitty and Star Wars means there really is something for everyone. In fact, our selection even features three pairs of sunglasses to take with you on your winter skiing holiday.