{"id":27731,"date":"2021-02-23T16:20:45","date_gmt":"2021-02-23T16:20:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/cjsnews\/?p=27731"},"modified":"2021-02-23T16:23:39","modified_gmt":"2021-02-23T16:23:39","slug":"online-learning-is-damaging-childrens-eyesight-parent-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/cjsnews\/online-learning-is-damaging-childrens-eyesight-parent-warns\/","title":{"rendered":"Online learning is damaging children&#8217;s eyesight, parent warns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Learning online is having a detrimental effect on the eyesight of children, a campaign group claims. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As pupils aged three to seven return to classrooms in Wales this week, Us For Them Cymru is calling for all children to return to school and move away from screens as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Parents involved with the group have raised concerns about their children\u2019s vision and other physical problems, such as headaches and back aches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lydia David, from Newport, is a member of the campaign group. Her nine-year-old son had to have glasses after the first lockdown and is now worried the problem will get worse if he does not go back to school soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">UsForThem Cymru is a campaign group that wants schools to be open as normal. Children need to be able to learn, play, socialise and access safeguarding.<br><br>We do not deny Covid exists, nor are we affiliated with any political party or other organisations. 1\/2<\/p>&mdash; usforthemcymru (@usforthemcymru) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/usforthemcymru\/status\/1351501186512388097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 19, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption>Us For Them Cymru campaign&#8217;s Twitter page.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen he had his eye test when he was eight, his eyes were fine,&#8221; she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Then he went back in August, so this was only after one term of being at home, and the optician said his eyes were a lot different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI asked is it because of excessive screen time and she [the optician] said that that was probably the cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re in the middle of February now. Who knows what his eyes are like now.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"929\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/02\/Lydia-David-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27734\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/02\/Lydia-David-1.jpg 576w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/02\/Lydia-David-1-186x300.jpg 186w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/02\/Lydia-David-1-293x473.jpg 293w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"929\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/02\/Lydia-David-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27734\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/02\/Lydia-David-1.jpg 576w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/02\/Lydia-David-1-186x300.jpg 186w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2021\/02\/Lydia-David-1-293x473.jpg 293w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>Lydia David and her son.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Optometrist and senior lecturer from Cardiff University\u2019s School of Optometry, Margaret Woodhouse, says that excessive screen time is always a problem for children&#8217;s eyes with televisions, computers, tablets and phones becoming ever more accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She says that online learning, and in particular looking closely at screens for longer periods of time, could be increasing the risk of children developing conditions like myopia, more commonly known as short-sightedness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She explains: \u201cIt\u2019s very bad for children to spend excessive time on screen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;There\u2019s plenty of evidence which shows that doing close work for a prolonged period of time is harmful for children\u2019s eyesight. So this is especially important to keep in mind when children are doing home schooling and having lessons on screens and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She said that more needs to be done to raise awareness of the 20-20-20 rule: \u201cAfter 20 minutes of screen time, you should take at least a 20 second break, and look at something that\u2019s at least 20 feet away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s very good evidence that time spent outdoors is preventative of developing myopia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without a clear date from the Welsh Government as to when all pupils will return to schools, for most children across Wales, getting back to the classroom and away from the screen is not yet an option.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Members of the campaign group Us for Them Cymru are worried that learning online is having a detrimental effect on their children&#8217;s eyesight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":583,"featured_media":27738,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[176,35,6],"tags":[194,136,627],"coauthors":[559],"class_list":["post-27731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cjsnewsteam","category-latest","category-news","tag-coronavirus","tag-education","tag-schools"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - 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