Physicians at The Vision Center at Children"s Hospital Los Angeles reported some medical adages or advice, which has been accompanied the growth of many parents. However, some of these adages are incorrect proved by scientists.
Many parents tell their kids that sitting too close to the TV will damage the eyes. This concern actually originated in the 1960s, when many people believed the emerging color TV sets would emit high amounts of X-rays. In fact, modern TV monitors as well as new LCD models do not emit any harmful rays. The truth of this concern is that long-time TV watching or computer work will not damage children"s eyes, but their intellectual development may be affected.
The second misconception about vision in the mind of many parents is that eating lots of carrots is beneficial to a kid"s eyesight. This idea mainly comes from the fact that Vitamin A is helpful in treating night blindness or Vitamin A deficiency. The nutritious ingredient Vitamin A do can be found in carrots. But eating a lot of carrots will not improve one"s eyesight. Lutein is actually proved to be effective in preventing macular degeneration.
A third prejudice is given to contact lenses that many parents think their children can not wear contacts safely. It is true that young kids are dissuaded from wearing contact lenses just for cosmetic reasons. And all contacts must be prescribed by an eye doctor. But following proper procedures, children at all ages can wear contact safely even if sometimes help from parents in lens insertion or removal is needed.
Another common concern among parents is associated with scissors that they believe that running with these devices is the leading cause of eye injury in children. According to statistics from the National Eye Institute, sport and recreational evens account for approximately 59% of pediatric eye injuries. Baseball and basketball are the most dangerous sports. Children who play these contact sports are strongly encouraged to wear protective eyeglasses.
Some parents think that it is impossible to put sunglasses on their children. They usually give up this effort if their kids are reluctant to wear sunglasses. The fact is that UV protection from sunglasses is much more necessary for kids than adults, because children"s eyes allow as high as 70% more UV rays to reach the retina.
References
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Vision problems of children
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The Development of Children"s Vision
