Although children have better eyesight than adults to begin with, it’s vital that you consciously take care of your child’s eye health. As they get older, the health of their eyes will deteriorate, but there are a number of other factors that can contribute to this deterioration. This article is going to look at a few simple ways you can help to protect the health of your child’s eyes.

Balanced diet

A healthy balanced diet is vital to good eye health. Ensure your child is getting all the vitamins and minerals they need for growth. Vitamin C, vitamin E and Zinc are key nutrients to look out for. Including a variety of coloured fruit and veg is a good way of knowing that they’re getting everything they need. Try foods such as; melon, grapes, blueberries, tomatoes. Also include vitamin-rich foods such as fish.

If you find you have a fussy eater, try swapping chips for sweet potato wedges or use a cookie cutter to create fun shapes in their food.

Read More: 8 Common Toddler Eating Problems & How to Solve Them

Visual stimulation

It’s not enough to just eat the right things, your child needs to flex their eye muscles and use them in order for their eyes to stay healthy. Give them visual stimulations such as colouring books, building blocks and different shaped toys. Not only will they find these new introductions entertaining and fun, they’ll also keep their eyes in top shape.

Restrict screen time

It can be easy to let your child sit in front of the TV all day watching cartoons, but restricting the amount of time they spend staring at a screen will greatly reduce the risk of problems with their eyesight later. Whether it’s TV, computers, phones, tablets or kindles, restricting how much time they spend staring at a screen is incredibly important.

Read More: 6 Ways to Stop Your Child from Watching Too Much TV

Encourage outdoor play

To combat this, encourage your child to go outside. Playing outdoors will also help to improve their hand-eye coordination and other motor skills. If they play with other children, they’ll be improving their social skills, so there are a lot of benefits to encouraging this type of behaviour. There is also some research to suggest that those who play outdoors more are at a reduced risk of developing short-sightedness.

Visit the opticians

Regular eye tests are the best way to determine exactly how healthy your child’s eyes are. Visiting the opticians every two years will help to identify any concerns about your child’s eye health and allow you to treat any conditions that are identified early on. If you want to instil a healthy habit in the family, then be sure to get your own eyes tested too; children are more likely to copy their parents and this will build good lifestyle habits.

Wear appropriate eyewear

If they are going outside, be sure to provide them with the appropriate eyewear. Sunglasses or a hat can both help to limit the amount of damage sunlight can cause. In some scenarios, it may be appropriate for you to provide them with both as a hat can also help to protect their skin from damaging rays.

Resources:
thehealthorange.com/stay-nourished/cure/8-eye-care-tips-to-protect-your-childs-vision
http://www.visionmatters.org.uk/childrens-eye-health/six-ways-to-keep-childrens-eyes-healthy

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