Childhood myopia is now considered an epidemic. The percentage of children with nearsightedness has roughly tripled over the last 50 years, driven largely by indoor lifestyles, longer near-work, and reduced outdoor light exposure. The good news: we can do something about it. Glimpse offers personalized myopia control to slow — sometimes effectively halt — your child’s progression.
Why act now?
Myopia’s real long-term cost isn’t the cost of glasses — it’s the lifetime risk of serious eye disease. Higher myopia in adulthood is strongly correlated with retinal detachment, macular degeneration, glaucoma, and cataracts. By slowing progression in childhood, we can keep your child below the higher-risk thresholds for life.
The window matters. Myopia progresses fastest between ages 6 and 14. Every year of delay narrows the available impact of intervention.
What personalized myopia control looks like.
There’s no single “best” myopia treatment. The right plan depends on your child’s age, current prescription, rate of progression, lifestyle, and willingness to wear specific products. We tailor a plan from these tools:
FDA-authorized spectacle lenses: Stellest by Essilor.
1,021 aspherical lenslets in concentric rings. Clinical data: 67% reduction in progression over two years. Best for school-age kids who already wear glasses and don’t want contacts. Fitted at Glimpse since FDA authorization.
FDA-approved contact lenses: MiSight 1 Day.
CooperVision’s daily disposable for kids 8+. Active kids, athletes, and teens who don’t want glasses on the field.
Specialty multifocal contacts: NaturalVue.
Soft daily disposable with neurofocus optics — option when MiSight isn’t available in your child’s prescription range.
Low-dose atropine drops (0.01-0.05%).
One drop at bedtime. Can be used alone or in combination with optical treatment to boost effect. Particularly useful for very young or fast-progressing kids.
Overnight orthokeratology (Ortho-K).
Rigid contacts worn during sleep that reshape the cornea for clear daytime vision. No daytime glasses or contacts needed. Strong fit for athletes and kids who want freedom from corrective wear.
Lifestyle changes that compound the benefit.
- 2+ hours of daily outdoor light. Independently protective against progression — even cloudy outdoor light has 100x the intensity of indoor light.
- 20-20-20 screen breaks. Every 20 minutes of near work, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
- 30+ cm reading distance. Closer reading is correlated with faster progression.
- Adequate sleep. Hormonal regulation of eye growth happens during sleep.
What to expect at a myopia control fitting at Glimpse.
- Initial pediatric exam. Comprehensive refraction plus a baseline axial length measurement — the gold-standard metric for tracking progression.
- Treatment plan discussion. We review options based on age, prescription, activities, and family preference.
- Treatment start. Stellest spectacle order, MiSight or NaturalVue fitting, atropine prescription, or Ortho-K mapping — depending on plan.
- 6-month follow-ups. Re-measure axial length and prescription, adjust the plan as needed.
How effective is myopia control?
Combined treatment plans (e.g., Stellest + atropine, or MiSight + atropine) often achieve 60-80% reduction in progression compared to single-vision glasses alone. The earlier you start, the more impact compounds over a child’s growth years.
Read about our Myopia Control program →
Frequently asked questions.
Is my child too young / too old for myopia control?
Most programs start at age 6-8, but we evaluate younger kids if myopia has appeared early. The window remains effective through about age 16-18.
What does treatment cost?
Stellest spectacles, specialty contacts, and atropine are typically not covered by vision insurance. Costs vary by plan; FSA/HSA usually applies. We’ll walk through the numbers at consultation.
How fast does myopia progress without treatment?
Untreated kids typically progress by -0.50 to -1.00 diopter per year. With myopia control we usually see -0.10 to -0.30 per year — a dramatic difference over 5-10 years of growth.