A B See

Children don't know what's not normal. It's estimated more than 1 in 10 children have an undiagnosed visual problem which is affecting their learning and development. 

A sight test can help your child achieve their best. All children under the age of 16 int he UK are eligible for NHS funded eye examinations. They have also provisioned for vouchers to put towards glasses or contact lenses for under 16's. 

It is recommended taht children have a sight test with their local optometrist around the age of three. This allows any conditions which need monitoring or treating to be picked up early. After the first test, children should be seen every one to two years, depending on the optometrist's outcome. 

1 in 5 children in the UK are short-sighted

 (They can see things up close very well, but things in the distance are blurred; like the school board or teachers)

52% of parents believe every child has a full sight test at primary school, but this is not the case. 

74% of Optometrist in the last year, have seen children with vision problems which could have been treated more high success, had they been detected earlier. 

1 in 50 children will develop a lazy eye, also known as amblyopia. This becomes more difficult to treat as the child becomes older and is irreversable once past the age of 8.

Children don't need to have symptoms to be seen by an optometrist. 

Screen Time

Sunlight or white light is made up of red, orange, yellow, gren and blue light rays. Combined together, this spectrum of coloured light creats white light. 

Depending on where they lie in the spectrum, coloured light is either long wavelegnths with less energey, or short with higher energy. 

Blue light?

Blue light is high-energy visible light with much shorter wavelenghts, which is what is cause for concern. Blue light is naturally present in sunlight, but is also found in screens on our TVs, computers and phones. 

Damage?

Currently, there is no scientific evidence that blue light causes damage to the eyes. However, there is evidence suggesting that working at short distances, for example on a mobile device or reading a book for long periods can cause increased eye strain. 

Sleep?

Screen time close to bed time can cause poorer sleep quality, which means your chid's concentration levels throughout the next day are lower. This may be caused by the link between blue light and its suppression of melatonin the hormone which makes us feel sleepy.