Stop allergies from messing with your kid

When you have kids with allergies, spring isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s more like itchy eyes and canceled play dates followed by frustrating visits to the doctor.

“When we took our kids out in the spring, their eyes would get really red and itchy, and swell up. It felt like each weekend was spent sitting in the doctors office,” says Manish Chadha, whose twin boys suffer from allergies, one severely. “Then last year, in Central Park, I was like, ‘This is ridiculous—we shouldn’t have even brought them out.’”

This spring, however, the twins are looking forward to enjoying the season more comfortably and just as actively. Along with their allergist, Chadha and his wife, Deepika, created Chiggy & N, a line of sunglasses specially designed to block eye allergens such as pollen, dust and sand for kids ages 4 to 10. Featuring all-around protective shields, the adjustable glasses also offer UV sun protection and are crafted from superdurable, playground-friendly plastic.

Effective at blocking up to 98 percent of particles, the glasses have allowed the Chadhas to significantly reduce allergy meds and days stuck indoors. “It seemed simple,” says Chadha of taking matters into their own hands. “We have all of these medications to treat allergies — why don’t we have any way to prevent the allergens from getting in?”

As parents know, simply providing a useful product isn’t enough — if that were the case, kids would wear hats before heading out into the snow, and retainers wouldn’t get “lost” so often. Fortunately, Chiggy & N sunglasses are as stylish as they are effective. “That was all Deepika,” admits Manish. “She kept saying, ‘If they don’t look fun, no matter what we say, kids won’t wear them.’”