Even
before the Covid-19 pandemic caused shutdowns worldwide, necessitating even
more use of computers for everything from communication to education, most
parents – including me – were worried about their children’s eyesight. (And
their own.) Surely focusing on lit screens hours a day, for days in a row,
would cause some irreparable damage. While that appears to be so, several
doctors, interviewed for the New York
Times, say it needn’t be, and preventing it isn’t that difficult.
If you’re
noticing warning signs of eye strain in your child, like headaches, excessive
blinking, dry eyes, rubbing of the eyes, and/or tiredness and crankiness, be
advised:
For
starters, according to Dr. Luke Deitz, a Los Angeles-based pediatric
ophthalmologist, keep the digital device at least two feet away. Whereas people
in general once read at a distance of sixteen inches away from the eyes,
researchers are finding, particularly with phones, we’re reading at ten to
twelve inches away. At this distance, the eyes turn in to focus on the screen,
which can lead to fatigue of the eye muscles, causing headaches, fatigue, or
other vision problems.
READ MORE: Find an optometrist or ophthalmologist near you
Dr.
Millicent Knight, an optometrist and spokesperson for the Global Myopia
Awareness Coalition, suggests placing an elbow on the table and then resting
one’s head in that hand. According to the article, “From this position, they
should lift their elbow and touch the screen; that is now the closest working
distance they should be from their device.”
Then
there’s the 20/20/20 Rule: Every twenty minutes you should look at something
twenty feet away for twenty seconds. This rests the eyes. Dr. Dietz advises
breaks over blue-light-blocking glasses, very popular, skillfully marketed
items, which, according to Dietz, are not proven to actually help. Sunglasses
with UV protection to wear outdoors, however, are recommended.
Other
tips: turn down screen brightness, set up screens perpendicular to windows, and
set up vision screenings for your child.