Let nature take over — Get your kids to spend less time on screens and more time outdoors.
The more time kids spend online, playing video games and listening to music with ear buds and headphones, the more prone they are to experience hearing loss and myopia.
Spending time outdoors is one of the easiest ways to improve overall health. Even playing outside in the backyard can help with higher levels of concentration, creativity, and improved mental clarity.
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The Facts
Children from 8 – 18 years of age spend an average of 7.5 hours in front of a screen.
About 1/3 of teens who play video games every day play three hours or more a day, a 10 percent increase from 2016.*
20% of teenagers have some degree of hearing loss.
According to the CDC, 12.5% of children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 19 have already suffered permanent hearing damage from excessive noise exposure.
Lack of exposure to outdoor light has an impact on increased myopia in children. In general, people with myopia are more likely to develop vision concerns as they age, such as cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration.**
In our new world of virtual learning and plethora of video game options...
it is more important now than ever to encourage our children to put their devices down and go outside and play.
Myopia is determined not only by genetics, but also a child’s developmental environment. Key contributors are the time spent performing near tasks and time spent indoors.
DR. AMY JANKOWSKI
The use of headphones and earbuds is not bad...
but it is crucial to limit both the volume and duration of use in order to minimize the potential negative impact on a child’s hearing.
While there are many factors that can contribute to the development of hearing loss over time, hearing loss due to noise exposure is one contributor that is totally preventable.
DR. MEREDITH KLINKER
Ways to protect your child's
Vision
20/20/20 RULE
For every 20 minutes of screen time, look at an object that is 20 feet away, for 20 seconds. This will help your eyes reset.
BLINK
While working on a digital device, ensure you are blinking regularly. This can help prevent eye strain and dry eye.
SPEND QUALITY TIME OUTDOORS
Time away from screens helps us use our distance eye muscles too. Sunlight also helps release dopamine in the body, which can prevent myopia in children. Don’t forget your UV-A and UV-B- protected sunglasses.
Ways to protect your child's
Hearing
PROTECT YOUR EARS FROM LOUD NOISE
Move away from loud sounds or speakers.
Turn down the volume when listening to music or watching TV. When wearing earphones or earbuds, you should be able to hear conversations around you.
Take breaks after listening to music with headphones or earbuds for more than 1 hour at a time.
Wear ear plugs at concerts or if you play in a band.
Listen to the birds singing, the wind whistling in the trees and children laughing.
For more information and resources on protecting your vision and hearing or for screenings, check out:
