Rebecca
A mother takes her child to a local boutique in the hope of buying her pride and joy a new pair of sunglasses. As she browses so many racks filled with an endless number of designer brands and style options, she also notices that the price tags vary from rock-bottom budget-friendly to sky-high expensive. Suddenly it is no longer a question of what the child would like, but how much she should spend.
For better or worse, the eyewear industry is no longer as simple as it used to be. In fact, it has become mind-boggling to anyone trying to keep track of who owns which brand and how much retailers charge for different styles. What used to be a simple matter of walking down to the drugstore and placing a few dollars on the counter for a pair of cheap plastic sunglasses has become an exercise in choices. Too many choices, quite frankly.
Getting back to our fictional mother, she has to think about value. To her, value equals the amount of money she pays for the new sunglasses as opposed to how much use her child actually gets out of them. She has a lot to consider.
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The Child’s Level of Activity
The first thing mom must think about is her child’s level of activity. There are some kids who are so hyper that they make the Energizer Bunny look like a retired 60-year-old living in a restricted deed community in Florida. Any kid active enough to get by on just six hours of sleep per night is probably one who cannot be trusted with an expensive pair of designer shades.
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The Child’s Preferred Activities
After the level of activity, mom has to consider the kinds of activities her child prefers. If the child is a rough-and-tumble kid who climbs trees, jumps off the highest diving board, and isn’t afraid to mix it up with the family dog every now and again, that brand-new pair of sunglasses could be headed for the trash can fairly quickly.
The other side of the coin is that child who enjoys a more passive, laid-back kind of life. This is a child who prefers art projects, reading, and spending time with mom and dad doing boring ‘adult’ things. Durability may not be a concern for this kid’s sunglasses.
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The Child’s Track Record
Next on the list is the child’s track record of taking care of personal possessions. There are some kids who cherish every item they own with the same devotion Warren Buffett gives to his stocks. Mom can buy this child the most expensive pair of sunglasses with full confidence that they would be well taken care of.
For every child like this there is also one whose track record conjures up images of Taz, the Tasmanian devil of Looney Tunes fame. This tornado-like child cannot seem to keep anything from breaking in short order and, as such, is the kind of child who should be wearing an Olympic Eyewear brand instead of something from Luxottica.
As every grandmother knows, the chore of buying kids sunglasses was a lot easier back in the days when most parents only had access to the bargain brands sold by drugstores. They didn’t have to think about price points, designer labels, and fashion. Every pair of sunglasses looked about the same; they all cost about the same, too.
Those days are gone. So mom, just be prepared for a million and one thoughts to be racing through your mind as you try and figure out how much spend on kids’ sunglasses.
