‘Is using an iPad ruining my child’s eyesight?’

Parents often use this technique to keep kids quiet, but Dr Zac Turner explains why it should be strictly limited.

Welcome to Ask Doctor Zac, a weekly column from news.com.au. This week, Dr Zac Turner talks about why a common parenting technique should be stricly limited.

QUESTION: Hi Dr Zac, my wife and I are at war right now over our child’s iPad. I’m trying to tell her that it will ruin his eyesight, and for the rest of our lives we’ll be paying through the roof at the optometrist.

She’s telling me that it’s all rubbish, and there’s no harm in using the tablet. She’s even calling me a hypocrite because I’m always on my iPhone. I don’t think its the same as my eyes are fully developed, whilst my kid’s aren’t.

Am I correct, or do I need to spend some time in the dog house? - Tyson 44 Sydney

Parents often look to technology as an easy way to keep their children quiet - but there are serious consequences if young kids are allowed more than 30 minutes of screen time a day. Picture: iStock

ANSWER: It’s a fairly new field of research, but health professionals are beginning to realise the full extent of the effects that screens have on our eyes. In particular, the effect they have on young people, and children’s eyesight.

Not sure if you have realised, but tablets have become the hottest thing every child wants - nearly every child is given one by their parents as essentially a modern dummy. It’s alarming because not many parents are taking into account that the device is causing damage.

As I said before, the research is still young, but it is indicating that children who spend more time behind a screen tend to have more eye problems than children who don’t. I would recommend limiting your child’s iPad usage.

We need to understand that our ancestors didn’t look at screens all day, and so eyesight evolved to be effective at viewing things from a distance. Now eyes do have a mechanism which can readjust focus to see closer objects, but it wasn’t built to spend lots of time doing it. To make things harder, an image on a screen flickers multiple times a second, which makes it even harder for eyes to focus than on printed materials such as a book.

Just like how alcohol causes a strain on our liver, screens stress the crap out of our eyes. And this leads to blurred vision, eye strain, and headaches. As well, when looking at screens we don’t blink as frequently which causes dryness and irritation.

Studies haven’t yet shown this, but it is fair to make the assumption that a child’s tablet is putting unnecessary stress on their eyes’ ability to effectively focus between close and far objects and vice versa.

One study has found that kids who spent more than 30 minutes a day playing video games on a screen were more likely than other kids to suffer headaches, eyelid tics, double vision, and dizziness. When the researchers looked at overall screen use, they found similar patterns: Kids who used screens for more than three hours a day were much more likely to be far-sighted and have astigmatism than kids who used screens less than that.

I understand it may feel impossible to take your child’s iPad away, but there are some things you can do.

Dr Zac Turner has four helpful tips for parents looking to minimise the amount of screentime their children have. Picture: iStock

Monitor screen time

Many parents already do this, but put a limit on how many hours a day your child has their tablet. Be firm with the restrictions, and always take it away if you feel they’ve had too much. Remember you are the parent! It’s your way or the highway.

Position the screen correctly

Make sure your child’s device is positioned slightly below eye level. Looking up at a device opens eyes wider and dries them out quicker. A phone should be one foot away from your body, a tablet or laptop two feet away, and a TV ten feet away.

Bedtime means no screens nearby

You should never let a child sleep near their devices, and you shouldn’t let them use it an hour before bed time. This will affect with their sleeping patterns and increase fatigue and stress.

Sometimes it’s best to be old fashioned

I know it sounds corny, but the great outdoors is where your kid should be spending most of their days.

Let’s not forget that us adults also spend a majority of our day looking at a screen. We also need to be aware of our eye-health, I recommend that everyone gets periodical eye check ups from an optometrist.

In between the check-ups, you should be doing eye-sight exercises. They are quite simple, and can really help maintain sight.

A very simple one is the 20-20-20 rule. For every 20 minutes looking at a screen, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

One exercise works with just pointing your finger. Hold your pointer finger a few inches away from your eye. Focus on your finger, then slowly move it away from your face holding your focus. Look away into the distance, then back on to your finger whilst bringing it back towards your eye. Repeat this three times.

We should all be conscious of our screen time and our eyes. I recommend next time you have screen-free time, do it as a family outside!

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Dr Zac Turner has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Sydney. He is both a medical practitioner and a co-owner of telehealth service, Concierge Doctors.

He was also a registered nurse and is also a qualified and experienced biomedical scientist along with being a PhD Candidate in Biomedical Engineering