{"id":3692,"date":"2022-03-11T15:12:05","date_gmt":"2022-03-11T23:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/?p=3692"},"modified":"2023-08-08T09:10:58","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T16:10:58","slug":"how-to-protect-your-childs-eyesight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/how-to-protect-your-childs-eyesight\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Protect Your Child&#8217;s Eyesight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Do not sit too close to the TV.&#8221;\u00a0 &#8220;Do not read in the dark.&#8221;\u00a0 &#8220;Eat your carrots.&#8221; Oh, how I remember growing up and having my parents tell me to protect my eyes and warn me about activities that might ruin my vision!<\/p>\n<p>Today, parents have the same worries, with a modern twist: &#8220;Don\u2019t hold your cell phone too close to your eyes!&#8221;\u00a0 &#8220;Wear your blue light glasses when you\u2019re on the computer!&#8221;\u00a0 &#8220;Eat your carrots!&#8221;\u00a0 Well, I guess some things haven\u2019t changed. As an optometrist, I\u2019ve heard all of these from concerned parents. Some even tell me that they don&#8217;t want eyeglasses for their children because wearing them will worsen their vision. Are any of these ideas true?<\/p>\n<p>No, not really. Our vision is dependent on genetics and environmental factors, not what we do with our eyes.\u00a0 For kids who need glasses, wearing them won\u2019t make their vision worse. As we have advanced in our society with technology and electronic devices, this is still true. Nearsighted (myopic) parents usually have nearsighted children who have difficulty seeing the board at school. And yes, many of these students might love to read for hours and spend too much time on their digital devices \u2013 just like most kids these days.<\/p>\n<p>So how can you protect your kids&#8217; eyesight? Here&#8217;s what I tell parents:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Encourage outdoor activities. The number 1 preventive factor in reducing the progression and onset of nearsightedness in school-age children is outdoor play and exercise. You read that right: outdoor physical activity really can help protect your child\u2019s vision! Spending an hour at the playground is truly the best advice I can give every parent.<\/li>\n<li>Limit electronic use before bedtime. I always tell parents who\u2019re concerned about their child&#8217;s vision and eye health to have kids stop any electronic use 1 to 2 hours before bedtime. While it won\u2019t affect their vision long-term, blue light from electronic devices suppresses melatonin production. This disrupts their sleep patterns, which could result in behavior changes the next day.<\/li>\n<li>Offer eye-healthy foods. Carrots are a healthy choice, but they aren\u2019t a magical food for eyesight. But I do recommend that your kids get lots of green leafy veggies (spinach, broccoli, kale), cauliflower, corn, and even orange bell pepper. Lutein and zeaxanthin are nutrients found in these vegetables. They\u2019re important for the macula (center of the retina) and back of the eyes.<\/li>\n<li>Follow the 20-20-20 rule. It\u2019s a good habit to give your eyes a break now and then. Every 20 minutes on the digital devices, take a minimum of a 20 second break to look 20 feet away in the distance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As a parent of four, I worry about my child&#8217;s eyes too! I try to ensure they get at least an hour of physical activity outdoors every day with family bike rides or trips to the playground. \u00a0I also sneak greens into smoothies, hide them in other foods, and even put them straight onto their dinner plates from time to time!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Resources for Parents<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>American Academy of Ophthalmology<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aao.org\/eye-health\/tips-prevention\/tips-children-eyes-vision\">20 Things to Know About Children&#8217;s Eyes and Vision<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So how can you protect your kids&#8217; eyesight? Here&#8217;s what I tell parents:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3693,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[619,94,93,621,547,620],"class_list":["post-3692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-issues","tag-blue-light-glasses","tag-eye-development","tag-eye-problems","tag-near-sighted","tag-school","tag-vision","ages-all-school-ages"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1691511058:8"],"_edit_last":["8"],"_thumbnail_id":["3693"],"slide_template":[""],"ase_chapter_enable_timeline":["off"],"video_format_choose":["youtube"],"_wpb_vc_js_status":["false"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["90"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["3"],"qode_animate-page-title":["no"],"qode_show-page-title-text":["no"],"qode_show-page-title-image":["no"],"qode_show-sidebar":["default"],"qode_hide-featured-image":["no"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["106"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_ages":["293"],"post_featured_author_bio":["Dr John Corpus's bio reads: &quot;I was excited to join the Kaiser Permanente Ophthalmology Medicine Group in Vacaville. I received my Optometry degree from the UC Berkeley School of Optometry in 2006.&quot; Dr. Corpus' full bio can be found on {{My Doctor Online}}."],"post_featured_author_bio_link":["https:\/\/mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org\/ncal\/providers\/johncorpus"],"post_featured_author_image":["https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/John-Corpus.png"],"post_featured_author_role":["YES"],"_wp_old_date":["2022-03-13"],"wpfp_favorites":["331"],"_yoast_indexnow_last_ping":["1691511058"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":["[]"],"_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":["[\"\"]"],"_yoast_wpseo_wordproof_timestamp":[""],"ase_map_component_start_point":["a:2:{s:3:\"lat\";d:29.76;s:3:\"lng\";d:-95.38;}"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3692"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3701,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3692\/revisions\/3701"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}