As a parent, your child’s health and wellbeing is always your primary concern. Finding out your child needs glasses, especially at a young age may come as quite shock, especially when the prescription seems to be increasing with every appointment to the optometrist.

Myopia in children happens when the eyeball grows too long, creating short-sightedness, where objects nearby are clear, but objects far away are blurred. While there is yet to be a cure for myopia, the next best thing would be slowing down or reducing myopia levels through good eye care habits.

When your child is doing homework, make sure they hold any reading material at least 30cm away from their eyes. The room should also be well-lit so your child doesn’t have to strain his or her eyes to see texts. Time spent on the computer or on electronic devices should be limited to 45 minutes a day.

Encourage your child to take a break and rest his/her eyes after 30-45 minutes of doing work. Ask them to look outside the window at far away objects, or even close their eyes for 2 minutes and relax.

A healthy diet can also do wonders for your child’s eyesight because certain food contains nutrients and antioxidants that help maintain healthy eyes. Carrots, and other yellow and orange fruits and vegetables contain beta-carotene, a type of vitamin A that helps protect the eyes. Green, leafy vegetables contain antioxidants like lutein and zeaxanthin, which helps to improve eyesight. Mixing and matching these kinds of food may help your child eat better, and strengthen their eyes at the same time.

The most recommended eye care habit is the easiest: PLAY! Yes, bring your child outdoors and let him run around in the sunshine after he does all his homework. The sun’s bright light stimulates the release of dopamine in the retina, which slows down the growth of the eyeball.

Lastly, it is also advisable for parents to bring their children to have their eyes checked regularly. If myopia is detected early, then measures can be prescribed to slow down its development. Nanyang Optical’s dedicated team of eye care consultants can conduct thorough eye health checks in children and prescribe proper actions that need to be done. You can schedule an appointment here, or visit any of our outlets that are open daily.