Story at a glance
- Spending hours staring at screens combined with a lack of time spent outdoors can cause children to develop nearsightedness, myopia and lead to serious eye problems later in life.
- “The age of myopia onset is the most significant predictor of severe myopia later in life,” one expert said.
- Approximately 54 percent of parents said their child has seen an ophthalmologist in the past year.
Only half of parents understand the possible health ramifications their children could experience as a result of excessive exposure to screens without spending time outdoors, according to a recent poll.
“Many parents may not be aware of both the short and long-term health issues linked to excessive screen time, including its effect on children’s eyes,” said the University of Michigan’s Mott Poll co-director Sarah Clark in a news release.
“Our findings suggest that some parents may have inaccurate perceptions of activities that affect their child’s eye health and vision and how to minimize risks,” Clark added.
Spending hours staring at screens combined with a lack of time spent outdoors can cause children to develop nearsightedness, myopia and lead to serious eye problems later in life, researchers said. They added that outdoor time could mitigate some of the risks.
“It’s important time to think about myopia risks for children because kids with this condition often become more nearsighted over time,” said Olivia Killeen, an ophthalmologist at U-M Health Kellogg Eye Center who consulted on the report.
“The age of myopia onset is the most significant predictor of severe myopia later in life,” Killeen added.
Approximately 54 percent of parents said their child has seen an ophthalmologist in the past year, according to the poll.
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Further, fewer than a third of parents surveyed said their children wear protective glasses when exposed to blue light from television or computer screens.
Researchers said there are steps parents might take to promote eye health in their children.
“Parents should encourage at least one to two hours of outdoor time per day because exposure to natural light benefits eye development,” Clark said.
“Parents should enforce family rules to ensure children have a sustained period of non-screen time during the day. This is especially important during summer months when they’re off from school and may have less structured downtime.”
The findings were based on a nationally representative sample of 2,002 parents of children aged 3 to 18 in April.
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