Digital Devices Putting Your Kids’ Sight at Risk?

Flickr Photo By: betsyjean79

“Sit away from the TV!”

Who didn’t hear that as a child? And now, we are in a time where technology has evolved so much that it’s, well, unavoidable.

In today’s world where a new Xbox or PS3 comes out every year, almost every child has access to a smart phone, and there isn’t a lack of flat screen TVs and laptops in any household, we overlook the most important thing we use to enjoy these all digital devices: our eyes.

Digital Devices Affecting Your Eyes

Now though it is true that watching digital devices won’t actually harm your eyes or make your prescription go up, but it can cause a substantial amount of digital eye strain. Eye strain can lead to things like pain in your neck and back, dry or irritated eyes, blurred vision, and of course, headaches, in adults as well as children. According to VSP Vision Care, kids spend over 7.5 hours watching TV per day. And they also spend another 1.5 hours texting per day. As the New York Times put it [in reference to digital devices], “If your kids are awake, they’re probably on-line.”

Eye Strain and How It Affects Our Kids

This is definitely a very serious issue. And even though eye strain may not cause direct damage to the eye, the overall health of your child is affected. How much productivity or how much concentration can a child put out if he or she has blurred vision or head and back aches?

To say that we should just cut our kids off from technology would be a stretch. Instead making small but impactful changes are a better, more practical alternative. For instance, visits to the optometrist for eye exams are crucial. It is recommended that children have their first eye exam at 6 months, then again at 3 years and then annually after that.

You can also minimize the impact of digital eye strain problems by using the 20-20-20 method. The 20-20-20 method consists of looking away every 20 minutes and an object 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds to re-focus your eyes and evade some, if not all, symptoms that come with eye strain.

Reduce Eye Strain

Building on the 20-20-20 method, take breaks and go out! Research from Duke University has shown that playing outdoors actually plays a part in preventing a child from developing nearsightedness. So put down the game controller/mouse/iWhatever and go get some rays (with proper sun protection of course!) and protect your eyes while you’re at it!

When your kids are taking in digital media, ensure they’ve got proper lighting and a good distance from the device. Poor lighting, in any situation, can cause eye strain just on its own. Lighting should never shine directly on the child, but on the work space they’re in. And overly bright overhead lighting should be minimized. Also, eyes function best when looking at things from a distance. The closer the object, the harder the eyes have to work.

And lastly, limit the intake of digital media your kid takes. Whether that means setting specific times or just making lifestyle changes, the less they intake, the less they strain.

We all know technology will continue to progress and as it does, so will the amount our kids consume. The best thing we can do as parents or caretakers is make sure they stay healthy while consuming it. Frequent eye exams, proper eyeglasses, a few eye exercises, as well as minor lifestyle tweaks, can make a vast impact on the way your kid grows and lives.