Children’s Eyecare

"What you can do to look after your children’s eyes"

There are three ways you can look after your children’s eyes:

• Take frequent breaks when looking at a computer screen. Some problems are caused by bad positioning the screen, keyboard or the chair. There can also too much light reflecting off the screen which can strain the eyes without being noticed. So encourage your child to take short breaks and frequently look away from the screen and focus in the distance for a while.
• Protect your children’s eyes from ultra violet. When sunny there is a lot of ultra violet about which can damage the retina. Do what you can to get your children to wear a hat and/or cool sunglasses. Make sure sunglasses have the CE mark that means they conform to safety and quality standards set by the European Union and will block out harmful UV light.
• Encourage you children to eat the right kind of foods. Although carrots are meant to help you see in the dark, it would be more accurate to say that eating fruit and dark coloured and leafy vegetables are very good for the eyes. That’s because they contain Lutein and zeaxanthin which help the eyes stay healthy into older age. Especially good for kids are Kiwi fruit, grapes, oranges, mango, papaya, peaches, sweetcorn, not to mention the children’s favourites - spinach, broccoli and brusssel sprouts!