Myopia in children is becoming an increasing problem. More children are getting myopia at an increasingly younger age. The culprits? Laptop, PC, mobile phone. And let's not forget the distance to the TV, which they prefer to sit right on top of… But real bookworms also suffer from it. Playing outside for at least 2 hours is the advice when it comes to reducing myopia in children.
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Working closely with technology - but also with reading - ensures that the eyeball does not develop in the right way. The eyeball should just grow neatly around, but because it is not trained in the right way, the eyeball grows further back.
The deformation of the eyeball that occurs in these children is an irreversible process and can even lead to visually impaired children or blindness later in life. This makes all alarm bells ring. Hence the advice that children should go outside more, as a possible solution against myopia in children.
Currently, half of all people in their twenties are nearsighted. I was quite shocked by that. And when our children are that old, that percentage may be even higher. So time for a change. And check, an annual eye test on your child is a smart idea. And did you know that nowadays you can also do an online eye test as a first step?
Simply telling your kids that their eyes deteriorate from sitting on the iPad doesn't really impress. And forbidding children to do something often has the opposite effect. But I'm afraid there isn't much else to it. I'm not too worried about my daughter. She plays a lot with friends, and if possible also outside.
And playing outside is so incredibly healthy for proper eye formation. Daylight is very good for your eyes and that is why it is recommended to play outside for at least 2 hours a day. Playing outside produces the substance dopamine, which ensures that the eye grows nicely round. This inhibits myopia in children. Moreover, you look beyond your eyes!
Pearle also recognizes the problem of myopia in children and has therefore published the children's book 'Buiten de Pixels'. Buiten de Pixels is written by children's author Marco Kunst and illustrated by Anne Roos Kleiss. However, it is not just a children's book, but a children's book that encourages outdoor play and thus prevents myopia in children.
The book tells the story of Finn who is gaming and gets hacked. In a playful way, not only Finn, but also your own child is stimulated to go outside and carry out the assignments in the book. This not only puts children in the spotlight, but also gives them an 'eye' for the environment.
To draw more attention to outdoor play and myopia in children, Pearle organized an event in which the children's book 'Buiten de Pixels' was also presented live in the Amsterdamse Bos. Very nice to see how children -if you give them a few assignments- can enjoy themselves outside. The children enthusiastically run through the forest to complete every assignment to perfection and are surprised by everything around them. Just looking in the clouds for what they see in it is a small party.
Do you also want to introduce your own child to the assignments of 'Buiten de Pixels'? You can pick up the booklet at a Pearle branch in your area.
Not only myopia in children but also a tablet neck is a danger.
An important rule that ophthalmologists promote is the 20-20-2 rule. Alternate twenty minutes on the phone, tablet, PC or in a book with at least a twenty second break. Go do something else, walk around, or go outside. The two usually means being outside for at least 2 hours a day. The former doesn't always work here at home, but my son won't make it anyway, I'm afraid.
By the way, a good reason to let him cycle to sports himself, and to drumming and the like. Instead of responding to his request to bring him.
A while ago we wrote about the pros and cons of the continuous schedule at school. We will have to adjust this article, because the continuous schedule now appears to have acquired one major disadvantage. Increasing the risk of myopia in children. Because the breaks are all considerably shortened, there is also much less played outside. The children sit with their noses in the books for too long, with all the consequences that entails.
Although my adolescent may no longer like playing outside, I will try to motivate him to look for daylight more often. Nice walk with the dog maybe? How will you encourage your children to spend more time outdoors?
