Help Your Kids See the Importance of Eye Health
By Brandi Goodman
Children's Eye Health and Safety Month in August encourages parents to teach their children about the importance of keeping their eyes protected. Maintaining your vision from a young age can help to keep your eyesight strong and prevent early aging diseases that can do serious harm. Help your kids see the importance of eye health so they can have strong eyes that are safe from danger.
Encourage Outdoor Play
Too much time spent in front of screens can be damaging to the eyes. You want to encourage your kids to get outside and enjoy some outdoor play from time to time to combat this. Eye strain and dry eye are just two common complaints children start to have when they're on tablets, phones, and video game consoles for extended periods. Playing outside and enjoying the fresh air may prevent this.
Provide a Nutritious Diet
A nutritious diet can help to keep the eyes strong. Certain foods provide the necessary vitamins for eye strength, such as citrus fruits, berries, nuts, and leafy greens. Vitamin A is especially important, with spinach, broccoli, fruits and vegetables with orange or yellow hues, and eggs being good sources. Vitamin C, an antioxidant, is also beneficial to consume regularly. It will work to fight toxins within the body that can cause damage to the eyes. Broccoli and spinach are good sources for this as well, as are sweet potatoes and winter squash.
Set Timers
Just because too much screen time is not all right, that doesn't mean any screen time at all should be prohibited. Eyesight can even be affected by reading books. Spending too much time looking at any one thing can cause a headache. Be sure to set timers so your kids know when it's time to take a break from their current activity and do something different. It's good to take the eyes off the thing in front of you at least every 20 minutes for 20 seconds at a time, minimum. Focus on something 20 feet or more away so your eyes have a chance to get some rest and stop working so hard. This may also be a good time to stand up and stretch and get an exercise break. Sitting for too long is not good for the body either.
Your children's eye health and safety should be at the top of your priority list. Make sure your own eye health is on that list as well, as eyesight quickly deteriorates as people age if it is not taken care of appropriately. Avoiding screen time and finding prevention methods are just the first steps toward keeping your kids' eyes (and your own) well.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Decatur, Ga.