Healthy vision is important for the whole family and begins with healthful practices during childhood. You can help keep your kids’ vision in tiptop shape with these six easy habits.
Have their eyes checked.
Sometimes you know your child can see well, but sometimes it’s hard to tell. A regular eye exam can uncover problems that school vision exams will miss. Eye charts are now printed with shapes for the very young!
Help your kids remember not to touch or rub their eyes.
Rubbing eyes often makes the problem worse, and germs can transfer from hands to eyes and cause infection. Washing hands often is a good practice, and should be done before touching eyes.
Eye protection, eye protection, eye protection.
Protect your children’s eyes from the sun with sunglasses that provide 100 percent UVA and UVB blocking, or they can wear a hat to shade their eyes. If adults are advised to wear safety glasses for an activity, kids should, too.
Healthy foods for healthy eyes!
Carrots, spinach, kale, salmon, tuna, and halibut all have vitamins that are good for your eyes. A well-balanced diet with different fruits and vegetables can help the whole body stay healthy.
Limit screen time.
Staring at the screen, especially close-up, for hours on end can blur your vision, and your child’s vision too. Make sure they take breaks! Every 20 minutes, take a break for at least 2 minutes, looking into the distance of 20 feet or more.
Don’t stare at the sun.
This may sound like common sense, but be sure to remind your children not to stare at the sun, which could permanently damage their retina.
Download and print a copy to keep as a reminder!