I’ve always been interested in glasses and part of the optical world. I remember my first pair of glasses vividly. They were pink multicolor metal frames and I wore them to my third grade classroom proudly. It was a cool and different look for me. My dad had picked them out for me so they were extra special. I was one out of several kids who wore glasses at school but I didn’t mind them–they helped me stand out.
I was also one of those kids whose prescription increased every year. I only had a slightly near-sighted (inability to focus on far objects) prescription (-1.25) in third grade but kept increasing by a quarter or half a diopter every year until I stabilized in my late teens. My family and I blamed the fact that I read a lot while not getting adequate lighting. I was also known to be quite studious but didn’t listen to my father when he told me to rest my eyes after a long time reading or doing close work.
That is why it is recommended to do the 20/20/20 rule- Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. The 20/20/20 rule was popularized by Dr. Jeff Anshell, a specialist in “vision ergonomics.” This should reduce eye strain caused by looking at digital screens for too long.
We encourage your children to book an eye exam anytime he/she feels eye strain or limited clarity. It is very important to take your children to the eye doctor so we can detect refractive errors more early on. It’s important to determine if your child has nearsightedness, far-sightedness, or astigmatism which are the common refractive errors. but there are other conditions to look out for as well. For example, the earlier we detect amblyopia as well as color blindness and depth perception, the better we can do to refer to the right pediatric ophthalmologist for more treatment and care.
In addition, the Vision Council reports symptoms like reduced attention span, irritability, eye strain, headaches if a child is exposed to screen time for two hours or more. In this digital age, it is important to monitor your kids’ usage of these devices and get their eyes checked today! Also, be sure to rest your eyes at the appropriate time so that you will reduce eye strain and headaches!
Book an appointment TODAY https://www.mottoptical.com/pages/appointment-booking to make sure your children’s eyesight is the best for the coming school year!
The World according to Kaleena 