Should children wear sunglasses?

Yes, they should. It is estimated that 50% of lifetime damage occurs by the age of 18, so protecting the eyes of children makes very good sense.

With young children, the trick is to find sunnies that stay on, so they need to be comfortable physically and optically, otherwise they’ll disappear when you’re not looking. There are several companies which have some clever products, including one where the sunnies are symmetrical in the sense that they can be worn either way up, which is great for toddlers.

Later on, make sure that they wear sunglasses that fit well, have good optics and UV protection. No one really wants to peer through awful lenses or have frames which slip off and plop onto the ground at the first opportunity.

Of course, they’re going to lose them and that unpredictable and often short life expectancy can be frustrating, but it’s much better than wearing any old thing because they’re cheap. Over time you’ll all get better at making sure that they haven’t gone AWOL. (Applies to both sunglasses and children.)