Eye Injury Prevention Month: Children’s Eye Health and Safety¶

We all know how difficult it can be to keep your child out of trouble. Numerous things can go wrong when caring for a small child, from climbing the furniture to running around the house. Many parents may overlook the importance of eye safety. What comes to mind when you think of caring for your children’s eyesight other than taking them for an eye test for kids?

Do you have a list of suggestions for how they should act to protect their eyes? Parents must take precautions because eye injuries can occur at any time. Because vision accounts for more than 85% of a child’s learning, protecting your child’s vision should be a top priority. This month is Eye Injury Prevention Month, so in honor of this month, here are some eye health and safety tips for your children.

Teach Them To Be Cautious Of Sharp Objects¶

One of the first safety rules that your child should learn is to stay away from sharp objects. The best way to control your child from getting hurt is by teaching them not to mess around in dangerous places.

This contains playing where the sharp objects are and never using them to play with because they could get poked or scratched if they managed to fall on one! This rule isn’t difficult to follow; it simply requires adhering to some basic safety precautions, such as staying away from potentially hazardous items!

Be Aware Of Your Child’s Eye Health And Needs¶

You can’t work on the health and safety of your child’s eyes if you don’t know about their current health or needs. Taking your child for regular eye tests is the best way to both ensure they are healthy and happy and to keep monitoring their eye health.

Getting an exam as soon as possible after noticing a change in their vision will help detect potential problems before they affect their ability or quality of life. Some eye care professionals will offer a free children’s eye exam, so it’s worth booking your child in regularly.

Teach Your Children Eye Hygiene¶

It’s easy to forget how important hand-washing is when it comes to your eyes. Touching one’s eyes without cleaning them can lead not only to poor vision, but also conjunctivitis, a nasty bacterial infection.

You should make sure that your children’s hands are always washed before they start rubbing or touching their eyes. Of course, you can’t be with your kids all the time, so it’s best to teach them to wash their hands frequently and properly, and to explain the risks of touching their eyes with dirty hands.

Children should wash their hands with soap and warm water, making sure to get both the fronts and backs of each hand and in between each finger for at least 20 seconds. An easy way to teach them is by singing the HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONG twice to assure their hands are clean. Once your child understands this eye health and safety tip, you won’t have to worry about rushing them to an eye care professional for a check-up or last-minute eye test for kids.

What Is the 20-20-20 Rule, and How Can It Help My Child’s Eyesight?¶

How often do you find yourself telling your child to stop staring at screens and get some fresh air? While screen-led activities can be a fun pastime and a way for children to learn, screen time when improperly monitored can cause strain on the eyes which could lead to further eye issues.

Fortunately, the 20-20-20 rule is a simple way to help keep our children’s eyes healthy while limiting the amount of time they spend on screens. New to the 20-20-20 rule? Here’s everything you need to know about the rule and how it can help your child’s vision between annual eye exams!

What Is The 20-20-20 Rule?¶

The 20-20-20 rule is the ideal way to keep your kid’s eyes safe while they play or work with screened items. The rule implies taking breaks of at least 20 seconds, every 20 minutes to look at something at least 20 feet away – this is believed to prevent eye strain and headaches when you or your children spend time looking at screens. If done properly, the 20-20-20 rule could save you a trip to the opticians for a children’s eye exam! Here’s how it works:

20 Seconds¶

Taking just 20 seconds of rest from staring at a screen can help refresh your eyes. When you’re constantly concentrating and looking at a screen, you’ll typically blink a lot less than usual. This lack of blinking can dry out the eyes, which isn’t great for your children’s eyesight. Taking these 20-second breaks to look at something other than a screen will give your children time to blink and refocus, which will moisten and refresh your eyes.

20 Minutes¶

To keep your children’s eyes constantly refreshed and healthy, you should make sure to keep those 20-second breaks up at least every 20 minutes. This means that after every 20 minutes of screen time, you should implement 20 seconds of away time between your child and any screens they have been looking at – this includes TVs, computers, tablets, and phones!

20 Feet¶

It’s been proven that taking frequent breaks from your screen to look at faraway objects significantly lessens eye strain symptoms, which is why it’s implemented in the 20-20-20 rule! To keep your kid’s eyes in tip-top condition in between those children’s eye exams, believe in getting your child to look out of a window at an object that’s far away – like a tree or a building. And it’s not just your children’s eyes you should be kept safe.

When you’re cooped up on a computer or tablet, you often lose your good posture, which means back, neck, and shoulder pain. This is no different for children, unfortunately! To help both your child’s eyesight and posture, use the 20 feet rule to get them up and moving.

Children are notorious for not noticing when their eyes are straining, so it’s even more important that you take steps to monitor your child’s screen time. For more advice on how to keep your children’s eyesight healthy, ask your eye care professional at your next children’s eye exam.

Conclusion¶

If you are suspicious that your child might be colour blind, whatever you do, DO NOT follow up this exercise by questioning them about colours of items around the house. If you do this they may clam up and this can affect their confidence.

This method is not a formal diagnosis and you should always check with an optometrist for confirmation as it is really important for colour blind children to be formally diagnosed so that they can access proper support at school.