As a parent, you are always looking for ways you can help protect your child, be that psychically, mentally, or emotionally, and it can get a little overwhelming. It is always helpful when you come across some simple, sound advice that you can follow knowing that you are doing right by your child. So, what about your children’s eye health? It may not be something you have considered unless your child has already had some issues with this or maybe you have noticed a bump on your eye lid (Chalazion) or developed conjunctivitis and it has started you worrying about your child’s eyes. Regardless of how you have come to think about eye health, here are some simple tips on how you can stop worrying about it and protect your little one’s eyes.
- Protect from sun damage – UV rays do not just damage skin, they can also have a serious effect on the eyes. The solution to this is simple and you probably already have plenty of sun hats to shield their face from the sun anyway. In addition to hats or parasols, you should get some little sunglasses with UV protection to protect your child’s eyes whilst also making them look incredibly cool.
- Rest the eyes – take regular breaks every 30 – 40 minutes. This applies to screen time but also reading and writing, anything that requires your eyes to focus on something consistently. Avoid television and tablet usage for children under 2 and try to keep screen time for older children to no more than 1 or 2 hours a day.
- Spend more time outdoors – some studies have shown that taking part in outdoor activities can reduce the prevalence of myopia in children or at least delay the development of it, giving your child more time before they will require glasses. Outdoor activities such as sports can also improve hand-eye coordination and general physical fitness as well.
- Eat eye-friendly foods – this includes fruit, vegetables, and fatty fish. Lutein and zeaxanthin have been found to protect your eyes from harmful high-energy light waves such as UV rays. These have also been linked to better vision and could even stave off age-related eye diseases. Some foods rich in these nutrients are kale, spinach, brussels sprouts, avocado, egg yolks, kiwis, orange peppers, grapes, pistachios, corn, zucchini, and goji berries. Fatty fish like salmon and tuna have also been shown to be beneficial to the development of the eyes.
- Get regular eye tests and check-ups – infants should be getting regular eye check-ups and screenings starting from being newborns to ensure that their eyes are developing properly and detect any problems as soon as possible. The sooner an issue is discovered, the sooner you can begin treatment and the best chance you have of successful vision correction with little to no life-long effects. Children should have regular eye tests to ensure that they can get prescription eyeglasses as soon as they are needed, thus preventing them from straining their eyes too much or struggling to focus at school.