Eye organizations are sounding the alarm: more and more children are becoming myopic due to screens

Parents are not doing enough to prevent eye problems in their children. Dutch groups committed to eye health warn about this in the first National Eye Week.

There are huge concerns around the world about it increase myopia in children. In the Netherlands, one in five people between the ages of 5 and 19 is surveyed. Researchers say the increase is due to a change in lifestyle: children today often look at screens for long periods of time.

Parents are often aware of the dangers of screen use in children, but they do not take adequate measures to prevent eye damage, says the Eye Fund. Developing myopia at a young age can cause serious eye problems later in life.

If someone looks at things that are close for too long, the eye will adapt to this, says Meta Neeleman, director of the Eye Fund. “If you change too little between far and near, your eye will change accordingly. This will cause your eye to be deformed, it will become longer and stretch a little. Normally your eye will be round.”

If your eye is deformed, light no longer falls properly on your retina and you need glasses or lenses to correct this. If you have such a deformity as a small child, it will be even worse later. “That keeps increasing. As you get older, you can often suffer from this from age 40 or 45.”

This applies to eye diseases in which people can, for example, lose part of their vision. “If your eye is stretched, there is some pressure on it. The retina can then detach. This can cause permanent damage.”

However, it is not true that only screens can cause eye problems for children. “It can also happen when you read books. You often see that people who have read a lot of books are nearby,” says Neeleman.

According to her, myopia always happens. “There are also hereditary forms. So it’s not true that you can prevent everything.”

But the use of screens at a young age worries her. “We see that so many screens are used now, even from infancy. You see strollers that already have a phone to keep the child busy. When I see that, because I know I know where he can lead, I’m shocked.”

To create more awareness among children and adults, the Eye Fund provides a teaching package for groups 3 to 5. It includes, for example, games to focus on eye health in a fun way .

For example, children are taught what the 20-20-2 rule is. This rule means that after twenty minutes of looking at a screen, people must look into the distance for twenty seconds. And also you have to go outside for two hours a day. Outside light is important because the substance dopamine is produced outside the eye, which ensures that the eye remains round and the cells remain intact.

Compliance with the rule can slow down or even prevent myopia at an early age.