Although every part of the human body is valuable and important, our eyes are even more vital. The eyes serve as the windows for you to engage your immediate environment as well as propagate visual information for your brain to work with. Hence, doing everything humanly possible to protect your eyes is a smart decision and an important one to make on behalf of your children.
Children to an extent are incapable of protecting themselves and providing for their needs. Their vulnerability exposes them to several dangers, and the same applies to their eyes. You must prioritize providing instructions to help maintain eye safety for your kids at all times. Since you can never be too careful, here are 8 simple steps that can help you protect the eyes of your children and their overall health.
1. Drink a lot of water.
As simple as it looks, drinking sufficient amounts of water comes with loads of benefits, especially for children. Drinking a great amount of water is good for your child’s eye health because it helps to prevent dehydration, and forms a vital part of the eye’s cleaning process. It is recommended that you cultivate a habit of water drinking for your children and ensure that your child takes at least four cups of water. This quantity can be adjusted depending on age and climatic conditions.
2. Provide and ensure the correct use of eyeglasses and contact lenses.
If your child uses recommended glasses or contact lenses, it is perfectly normal for them to be extremely careless with them. It is your responsibility to enlighten them on the proper use of their glasses and ensure that they take adequate care of them. Encourage them to use it while reading and remove them during physical activities. Also, make sure that they are taken for consistent check-ups, get the correct pair of glasses as of when due, and maintain a close relationship with your ophthalmologist at the community care clinic.
3. Monitor and reduce screen time.
Consistent exposure to screen time has its side effects on the human eyes. Hence, as a parent, you must make it a priority to monitor the amount of time your children spend in front of a tv or on mobile phones, laptops, and other electronic devices. Be sure to stop them from screen time after an hour for kids younger than five and after two for kids above five.
You can also provide photochromic glasses if your children have to use screen time for longer periods. Or you can teach and encourage them to use the 20-20-20 rule i.e look 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes. Encourage them to engage in physical and outdoor activities rather than watching Tv and playing video games.
4. Ensure your kids learn to enjoy outdoor activities.
You should be worried as a parent when you notice that your kids spend more time in front of a Tv than on physical activities. One of the ways you can learn to protect the sight of your children is by getting them involved with recreational activities and sports. That way, you indirectly get to reduce screen time while helping them enjoy the benefits of outdoor engagements.
5. Balanced meals.
Another helpful tip to promote a healthy eyesight is ensuring that your kids eat healthy meals. Food rich in the right quantity of nutrients and vitamins has proven to be very beneficial for eyesight. Proteins like eggs, fish, fruits, and vegetables should become a consistent part of your kid’s meal.
6. Sufficient sleep.
A sufficient amount of sleep is vital for the good health of your kids. Sleep provides an opportunity for your brain, muscles, and eyes to relax and it also rejuvenates the body. Ensure that your children maintain a consistent sleep schedule and sleep a minimum of 8 hours.
7. Prevent your kids from unhealthy habits.
As parents, you must know and accept that your kids are likely to be curious and may attempt to experiment or explore certain possibilities to satisfy their curiosity. You must be watchful and discourage your children from habits such as rubbing their eyes or inserting foreign objects into their eyes.
These can cause injuries or eye irritations. Germs from foreign objects or the hands might cause conditions such as conjunctivitis. Encourage proper hand hygiene and ensure that your kids do not engage in harmful activities.
8. Regular appointments with your doctor.
A good way to facilitate good eye health is by ensuring consistent visits to your doctor. Doing so helps you detect eyesight challenges early, and begin immediate administration of drugs and other forms of treatments. If your kids have any complaints about their eyes, you should pay attention to them and book appointments with an ophthalmologist at a Primary care clinic. Avoid any form of self-treatments and stick to medications and instructions from your doctor.
It is your responsibility to ensure that the health of your children is protected and at its peak. A good way to ensure the health and safety of your children is by getting access to quality healthcare services. If you need guidance and wish to know more about how you can protect the eyesight of your children, contact us here and you will be provided with premium access to the best health care services you need.
