With the sudden increase in screen use in children we are seeing an association with risk of obesity, poorer school performance and poorer sleep quality.
The Canadian Association of Optometrists and the Canadian Ophthalmological Society in combination have recommended the following guidelines for screen use in children:
0-2 years - None (exception of live video-chatting with parental support to do potential for social development)
2-5 years - No more than 1 hour/day of age appropriate, educational and supervised viewing.
5-18 years - No more than 2hours/day of recreational screen time. Individual screen time plans should be based on development and needs.
It is important to take a screen break every 30-60 minutes, ideally with some form of whole-body physical activity.
Get outdoors! There is a link between near-sightedness and the amount of time spent outdoors. Less time spent outdoors is linked to higher prevalence or progression of near-sightedness.
Lastly, avoid screen use 1 hour before bedtime.
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