Kids, Screens, and Declining Eyesight

As we continue to come out of the difficult months of the pandemic, researchers are learning more and more about the fallout of Covid-19. An international team of researchers from the United States and China have found that the rates of myopia, or near-sightedness, among young children were three times higher during the pandemic than they were during the previous five years. This uptick among children ages six to eight is believed to be caused by children spending less time outdoors and more time in front of digital screens. This finding is consistent with pre-pandemic research that connected the use of digital screens with a doubling rate of teens needing glasses between 2012 and 2018. Parents, God has blessed us with the gift of our eyes and our eyesight. All of us know that as we age, our eyesight tends to decline. Our role is to help our kids steward the gift of their eyesight by encouraging healthy habits. One good step in that direction is to limit their screen time.