Basement

We treat children differently. Getting your first pair of glasses can be a daunting experience for a young person and their parents. We have a specialist children’s department, offering a huge choice of colourful, fun frames for the younger wearer. We use the latest technology to ensure accurate diagnosis. Along with specialist paediatric dispensing, we do our utmost to put our younger customers at ease and ensure a positive experience.

What you and your child can expect. With children the eye test is focused on visual development. Picking up issues early can prevent long term problems. Depending on the age of the child, we employ a variety of methods to test for depth perception and tracking to check both eyes work well together.

For younger children, we use eye charts featuring objects rather than letters for those who cannot yet read. We also make testing fun by using specially designed games. Most importantly, we take the time to look at each child holistically. We strongly recommend annual eye checks for children to ensure any issues can be identified and hopefully treated early.

What we offer. We stock lightweight titanium and brightly coloured acetates in lots of different shapes, and we fit lenses that are as thin and discreet as possible. In addition, we offer frames that are designed specifically for playing sport. These can feature protective silicone nose pads, side vents for reducing condensation and safety lenses. For our youngest customers, we recommend curl side spectacles, comfortably hooking around the ear and ensuring they stay put.

Visitors to our children’s department love watching frames being glazed by our technician in our glass-walled workshop.

Sunglasses. Children’s eyes are far more susceptible to UV damage than adults because the crystalline lens is clear. This allows 70% more UV rays to reach the back of the eye, which can cause permanent damage. Wearing sunglasses regularly when young can prevent UV related eye issues developing later in life. All children should have sunglasses either prescription or plain.

We offer a host of colourful, fun and quirky sunglasses for our younger customers and can also fit sunglass lenses in our optical frames too.

Myopia Control. Myopia, or short-sightedness, is a very common eye condition where distant objects appear blurry whilst close objects are clearer.

If your child has myopia, there are now several clinically proven options available that can slow the rate of progression. If left untreated, myopia progression results in children needing thicker lenses for their spectacles and there is a risk of eye health issues such as retinal detachment and myopic macular degeneration arising in the future.

We have recently invested in the OCULUS Myopia Master®. This device performs fast measurements of the most important parameters relating to myopia development, particularly the length of the eye (axial measurement). The measurement is contactless and painless and only takes a few minutes. Every measurement is stored in a patient file, making monitoring and future myopic predictions more accurate.

We offer a range of options to slow the progression of myopia or short-sightedness in children. If left untreated, myopia can lead to lasting vision problems.

MiSight® Myopia Control Contact Lenses. MiSight® 1 daily disposable contact lenses are proven to slow the progression of short-sightedness in children.

MiYOSMART Myopia Control Spectacle Lenses. MiYOSMART lenses are just like wearing ordinary spectacle lenses. They provide vision correction so your child will experience comfortable vision for both near and distance vision, whilst working to reduce the progression of their short-sightedness.

We recommend that children who wear myopia control contact lenses take a break from them for one day per week. Having a pair of spectacles fitted with MiYOSMART lenses will ensure there is no regression in their myopia control treatment on that rest day.

We would recommend booking an appointment with your child’s usual optometrist to discuss further.

Contact lenses. Wearing contact lenses requires patience and persistence. Our hands-on teaching is carried out by our skilled dispensing opticians who have specialist training in showing children how to fit and remove their contacts. We have a special area where our younger customers can practice at their leisure. And of course, we are always on hand for a refresher course should it be needed at any point.

We are in the envious position of having our own workshop in the basement of the store where we shape and fit lenses for our customers. By glazing the frames ourselves, we are in complete control. Your lenses will always fit your frames perfectly and the positioning of those lenses will be spot on.

The craft. We don’t just fit lenses in our fabulous glass-walled workshop. We have all the tools and parts needed to custom fit frames when you come to collect them. Whether it’s adjusting the temples to fit snugly over the ears or adding nose pads to a frame, we do it all on site. We always have a skilled technician on the premises and we can make adjustments to your frames as and when necessary.

It can be a little tricky learning how to insert and remove contact lenses at first. We understand that. So, we have created a dedicated, quiet space where you can practice doing this at your leisure, having been taught the ropes by our fully qualified dispensing opticians. Of course, our team are always on hand should you have any issues at all or if you need a refresher course.