Difference between revisions of Child Myopia

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Most parents new to the method have the first instinct to take away their child's correction and take away most of, if not all of, their favorite close-up activities.

Let's start with the desire to take away correction. Don't. If your child was just told they need glasses and they have never worn them before by all means hold off on introducing correction, you might even find with new [[habits]] they won't need correction, as long as you are working on their vision, it is not harmful to not rush into correction. But, if a child is already wearing correction they can't just stop. They need to learn to wear the correction only when needed and should never wear their full correction for near work. If their correction is stronger than -2 they will likely require [[differentials]] for near work. Ideally it is best to provide the correction for a greater distance than to have your child looking at things closer in order to eliminate that need for correction; because the closer they are to the object of focus the more strain there is on the eye. Always the goal should be to maximize their distance when in a situation of static viewing; such as reading, playing video games and computer work. The worst danger zone is under 50cms, as you can quickly surmise this includes basically everything within arms reach for children. In actual application especially in school it might be difficult to introduce differentials, if your child is content to remove their glasses and is confident they can see well enough doing so for near work, this is most likely easier than having them switch throughout the school day. Remind them to be mindful of switching focus to prevent [[ciliary spasm]]. For those who cannot remove their correction but are still unlikely to switch correction in school it is even more important to have those good habits as well as a correction that is only just sufficient to see the board to help minimize [[hyperopic defocus]]. Bifocals and multifocal lenses are not generally indicated, a bit on that [https://endmyopia.org/progressive-lenses-good-myopia-rehab/ from Jake here].

Let's start with the desire to take away correction. Don't. If your child was just told they need glasses and they have never worn them before by all means hold off on introducing correction, you might even find with new [[habits]] they won't need correction, as long as you are working on their vision, it is not harmful to not rush into correction. But, if a child is already wearing correction they can't just stop. They need to learn to wear the correction only when needed and should never wear their full correction for near work. If their correction is stronger than -2 they will likely require [[differentials]] for near work. Ideally it is best to provide the correction for a greater distance than to have your child looking at things closer in order to eliminate that need for correction; because the closer they are to the object of focus the more strain there is on the eye. Always the goal should be to maximize their distance when in a situation of static viewing; such as reading, playing video games and computer work. The worst danger zone is under 50cms, as you can quickly surmise this includes basically everything within arms reach for children. In actual application especially in school it might be difficult to introduce differentials, if your child is content to remove their glasses and is confident they can see well enough doing so for near work, this is most likely easier than having them switch throughout the school day. Remind them to be mindful of switching focus to prevent [[ciliary spasm]]. For those who cannot remove their correction but are still unlikely to switch correction in school it is even more important to have those good habits as well as a [[normalized]] correction that is only just sufficient to see the board to help minimize [[hyperopic defocus]]. Bifocals and multifocal lenses are not generally indicated, a bit on that [https://endmyopia.org/progressive-lenses-good-myopia-rehab/ from Jake here].

Now on to that other reflex reaction. If you take away all of your child's favorite and accustomed activities, they are not going to see your love for them in it. They are most likely going to hate the sudden onset of restrictions and feel like they are being punished for being myopic. While this is clearly not your intent, this is almost certainly how they will feel. Try to make gradual changes. Reducing time in extreme and static close up needs to be a priority; so anytime you can shift phone and/or tablet activities to a tv at a greater distance this will be progress. Many parent also use book stands to help increase and encourage consistent reading distance. Introduce the [[20-20-20 rule]] during close up right away, then start reducing the close work time itself where possible. One thing that might help with the 20-20-20 rule is a "stretch buddy" place an object (favorite toy perhaps) at a distance from your child during close up and encourage them to "stretch their eyes" to see the object at regular intervals, picking out details on it as much as possible. Don't worry overmuch about activities like Legos and Play-doh, 3-D objects and activities tend to have a lot of shifting focus, these activities are not harmful, provided there is good lighting and your child gets good distance vision as well. It is static vision that is the primary concern.

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 Most parents new to the method have the first instinct to take away their child's correction and take away most of, if not all of, their favorite close-up activities.
-Let's start with the desire to take away correction. Don't. If your child was just told they need glasses and they have never worn them before by all means hold off on introducing correction, you might even find with new [[habits]] they won't need correction, as long as you are working on their vision, it is not harmful to not rush into correction. But, if a child is already wearing correction they can't just stop. They need to learn to wear the correction only when needed and should never wear their full correction for near work. If their correction is stronger than -2 they will likely require [[differentials]] for near work. Ideally it is best to provide the correction for a greater distance than to have your child looking at things closer in order to eliminate that need for correction; because the closer they are to the object of focus the more strain there is on the eye. Always the goal should be to maximize their distance when in a situation of static viewing; such as reading, playing video games and computer work. The worst danger zone is under 50cms, as you can quickly surmise  this includes basically everything within arms reach for children. In actual application especially in school it might be difficult to introduce differentials, if your child is content to remove their glasses and is confident they can see well enough doing so for near work, this is most likely easier than having them switch throughout the school day. Remind them to be mindful of switching focus to prevent [[ciliary spasm]].  For those who cannot remove their correction but are still unlikely to switch correction in school it is even more important to have those good habits as well as a correction that is only just sufficient to see the board to help minimize [[hyperopic defocus]].  Bifocals and multifocal lenses are not generally indicated, a bit on that [https://endmyopia.org/progressive-lenses-good-myopia-rehab/ from Jake here].
+Let's start with the desire to take away correction. Don't. If your child was just told they need glasses and they have never worn them before by all means hold off on introducing correction, you might even find with new [[habits]] they won't need correction, as long as you are working on their vision, it is not harmful to not rush into correction. But, if a child is already wearing correction they can't just stop. They need to learn to wear the correction only when needed and should never wear their full correction for near work. If their correction is stronger than -2 they will likely require [[differentials]] for near work. Ideally it is best to provide the correction for a greater distance than to have your child looking at things closer in order to eliminate that need for correction; because the closer they are to the object of focus the more strain there is on the eye. Always the goal should be to maximize their distance when in a situation of static viewing; such as reading, playing video games and computer work. The worst danger zone is under 50cms, as you can quickly surmise  this includes basically everything within arms reach for children. In actual application especially in school it might be difficult to introduce differentials, if your child is content to remove their glasses and is confident they can see well enough doing so for near work, this is most likely easier than having them switch throughout the school day. Remind them to be mindful of switching focus to prevent [[ciliary spasm]].  For those who cannot remove their correction but are still unlikely to switch correction in school it is even more important to have those good habits as well as a [[normalized]] correction that is only just sufficient to see the board to help minimize [[hyperopic defocus]].  Bifocals and multifocal lenses are not generally indicated, a bit on that [https://endmyopia.org/progressive-lenses-good-myopia-rehab/ from Jake here].
 Now on to that other reflex reaction. If you take away all of your child's favorite and accustomed activities, they are not going to see your love for them in it. They are most likely going to hate the sudden onset of restrictions and feel like they are being punished for being myopic. While this is clearly not your intent, this is almost certainly how they will feel. Try to make gradual changes. Reducing time in extreme and static close up needs to be a priority; so anytime you can shift phone and/or tablet activities to a tv at a greater distance this will be progress. Many parent also use book stands to help increase and encourage consistent reading distance. Introduce the [[20-20-20 rule]] during close up right away, then start reducing the close work time itself where possible. One thing that might help with the 20-20-20 rule is a "stretch buddy" place an object (favorite toy perhaps) at a distance from your child during close up and encourage them to "stretch their eyes" to see the object at regular intervals, picking out details on it as much as possible. Don't worry overmuch about activities like Legos and Play-doh, 3-D objects and activities tend to have a lot of shifting focus, these activities are not harmful, provided there is good lighting and your child gets good distance vision as well.  It is static vision that is the primary concern.