How to Protect your Child's Eyes from Mobile and Computer Screens
In the post Covid-19 world, increasing number of children have to move from conventional paper textbooks & classrooms to eBooks & online classes. This has resulted in a many-fold increase in the time they spend staring a smartphones, tablets, laptops or PC screen. Since children are said to be using the devices for their studies, parents are finding it difficult to limit or regulate children's screen time. Under these circumstances, parents are asking a very reasonable question,
Which tablet or Smartphone is best for my child's Eyes?
Which tablet or Smartphone is best for a 14 Year Old's Eyes?
The older the child, the tougher the parent's role in regulating child's smartphone, tablet usage time.
Honestly speaking, there's no smartphone or tablet which is completely safe for human eyes. The longer a child spends time staring a smartphone/tablet display, the more harm it will have on eyes. So idea here is to follow some dos and donts to lessen the harm or to protect the eyes. In addition, parents must also try to decease their child's smartphone usage as much as possible.
As far as, choice of smartphone or tablet is concerned, the But general rule of thumb is: The pricier the smartphone or tablet, the better will be its display to human eyes. So while buying a smartphone or a tablet for your 14 year old, DO NOT go for cheap ones.
In addition, get an Anti-Glare Screen Protector.
Use Blue Light Filters or Night Mode to reduce Digital Eye Strain (DES) induced by smartphone displays. According to studies, DES occurs in around 50% of computer users. But the good thing is that eye strain is not a long-term problem. But DES does cause extreme discomfort and makes getting through a work day difficult. The most common symptoms of eye strain are headaches, blurred vision, dry eyes, and in extreme cases, neck and shoulder pain.
Another good thing about DES is that when your eyes strain, they tell the rest of your body to move away from the device and take a rest to refreshen up. The much needed rest can rejuvenate the eyes.
Below are some Dos and Donts you must teach your 14 year old to protect eyes from screen induced strain. Parents can teach the following to younger children as well. The younger the child the easier it is to regulate his/her smartphone usage duration:
1. Tell your child to blink frequently (in normal intervals) while using a smartphone
Looking a smartphone screen continuously causes dry eyes. Children get so immersed in the screen that they simply forget to blink. Tell your child to blink frequently (in normal intervals) while using a smartphone.
If for some reason, your 14 year old gets so focused on the screen that he/she forgets to blink , then Artificial Tears or eye lubricating drops can also be used. But it must be done ONLY ON THE ADVICE OF A DOCTOR.
2. Use The 10/10/10 Rule
Human eyes are not designed to continuously stare all day at something directly in front of them. They are designed to see near and far objects. So help the child develop a habit of taking a break. If he/she looks at screen continuously for 10 minutes, he must look at something at least 10 feet away from you for 10 seconds. The objective here is to break the screen time and distance monotony.
3. Ensure that the 14 year old's Room Is Well Lit
The room must not be too bright. Instead of blue/fluorescent light LED/LCD bulbs use yellow light bulbs. The room must not be too bright. so when possible, close your curtains and reduce your use of fluorescent lighting.
Use lower voltage bulbs and make sure your ambient lighting is about half as bright as the average office.
Contrary to normal belief, less light in the room is actually better for eyes while someone is working on a computer. So make sure the room is not too bright.
4. Reduce Glare
Glare (or too much contrast) on your child's device screen causes eye strain as it stops your eyes from focusing easily on the content he/she is trying to focus on.
Use an anti-glare matte screen where possible (rather than glass-covered LCDs).
5. If Child wears glasses then make sure to have spectacles/ glasses with anti-reflective coating.
5. Use High-Resolution Screens
Flicker was a common problem with CRT screens (older Computers). Low refresh rate causes flicker on screen. Flicker on screens makes eyes feel uncomfortable.Nowadays, screens typically offer refresh rates of 75Hz or more. The higher the refresh rate the better.
The higher resolution of screen matters as much as its higher refresh rate. High resolution screens offer more lifelike images. Since human eyes are designed to see real imagery hence higher resolution screens are less straining to the eyes. Always choose highest resolution for your child's smartphone or tablet screen.
6. Reduce Blue Light
Blue light is known for causing damage to the eye. Hence it is always advisable to reduce blue light in the room. That's why instead of LEDs & LCDs, it's advisable to use ordinary ordinary incandescent lights or light bulbs in study rooms.
One can reduce blue light by using specialist glasses or reduce the color temperature of your screen. It’s ideal for long-term use.
7. Adjust Screen Settings
You can easily customize your 14 year old's screen settings. Choose contrast, brightness, and text settings levels which are least straining to your child's eyes. For example, use automatic brightness settings so that the phone can adjust brightness levels based on the ambient lighting.
DO NOT use too small text size it strains the eyes. You can tweak with other settings as well.
8. Keep A Sensible Distance
Ideally one should be able to see everything on your phone screen from between 16 and 18 inches away (a foot and a half distance).
Don’t hold your phone too close. Instead of bringing the phone closer tell your child to zoom in (enlarge) the screen.
9. Turn on Night mode
Modern day smartphones offer night mode -- A feature that is less straining to eyes at night.Turn the feature on, and your phone will automatically adjust screen settings depending on the time of day.
10. Use Anti-Reflective Screen Protectors
Smartphone screens are shiny. Matte screen protectors hide that shine by giving the smartphone screen that old-screen LCD finish. The anti-reflective screen protectors reduce glare from ambient lights or sunshine.
11. Keep the phone away when not required
Although difficult, one must try to limit one's smartphone use to only necessary tasks. Keep the smartphone away when not require. Parents must develop this habit first. It is always better to practice what you preach to children.
12. Separate tasks into Smartphone and Non-smartphone ones
Having a smartphone access doesn't mean you need a smartphone for every task. Segregate tasks in two groups: Those which require smartphone and those which don't. Follow this rule strictly. Again it is always better to practice what you preach to children.
To conclude smartphones have become a necessary part of our lives. It is difficult to imagine one's life without them. Smartphones are not only being used by adults. They are also being used by children. But smartphone, tablet, or laptop usage causes significant strain to eyes. To reduce the smartphone induced damage to your 14 year old's eyes, always choose a good quality smartphone. Try to reduce his/her smartphone usage and follow the Dos & Donts discussed above.
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