Outside play keeps eye health problems at bay

Encouraging your kids to play outside has a wealth of health benefits, but did you know it can have lifelong benefits to eye health.

 Specsavers Orange Optometrist Scott Priddle brought the issue to our attention following a research project conducted by Specsavers designed to better understand screen use amongst children and parental understanding of their child’s eye health.

The research reports that New South Wales children spend an average of 2.6 hours on screens each day, with 14 per cent, the equivalent to 3,011 children in the Orange area, spending more than four hours.

Those aged 13-17 are spending an average of 3.2 hours per day on screens. Those aged between 9-12 are spending an average of 2.4 hours per day on screens. Those aged between 5-8 are spending an average of 2.1 hours per day on screens. Those aged between 0-4 are spending an average of 1.9 hours per day on screens.

The World Health Organisation recommends no screen time for children under 2 years and no more than an hour a day for children aged 2 to 5 years.

“I understand how strong the pull of digital screens is for children and I also know that the way children learn and play is drastically changing as technology becomes increasingly incorporated into everyday life,” said Specsavers Orange Optometrist Scott Priddle, who is encouraging parents to promote more outside, physical play.

“When it comes to eye health, the biggest problem with screen time is nothing to do with the actual screens. It’s simply the fact that normally when kids are on screens like phones and computers, there is a lot of near vision work that is often indoors without natural light. That’s the part that’s bad for your eyes. So other near vision, inside work like homework and reading can have a similar negative effect on the eye.”

While most New South Wales parents (59 per cent) believe their children should be spending less time on screens because it’s bad for their health, most are unsure of ways to tackle it.

“The biggest message I would like to get across to parents is to make sure their children spend time outside playing,” said Scott.

“Staring at screens and being indoors for extended periods of time can increase the risk of myopia or becoming short-sighted. This means the eyes focus well only on close objects, while more distant objects appear blurred. Children are more at risk of this, as their eyes are still developing.”

The school holidays are the perfect opportunity to encourage healthy eye habits, said Scott.

“Anything from running around the garden to helping mum and dad with errands could have a huge benefit for the eyes!”