Question

2 minute speech on children's and computers "......

Answer 1

Kids and computers are nearly inseparable these days. With many school-age kids and even preschoolers spending hours in front of a computer every day, it's worth considering what effects computers might have on your children's eyes and their vision.

Is computer use bad for a child's eyes?Does it help or hurt school performance?Should kids wear computer glasses at school?

These and other questions about kids, computers and computer vision are common. This article will help you learn more about these timely topics.

Computer Use Improves School Readiness

Here's good news: Recent research suggests computer use among preschool children may actually improve their readiness for school and academic achievement.

In one study of 122 preschoolers enrolled in a rural Head Start program*, children in the experimental group were given the opportunity to work on a computer for 15-20 minutes per day with their choice of developmentally appropriate educational software, while the kids in the control (non-computer) group received a standard Head Start curriculum.

All children in the study took four standardized tests at the beginning of the study and six months later to assess their school readiness, visual motor skills, gross motor skills and cognitive development.

The children who worked on a computer performed better on measures of school readiness and cognitive development than the children without computers. Also, kids who did computer work both at home and at school performed better than kids who worked at a computer only at school.

Computer Risks for Children

But too much of anything can be a problem. Like adults, children who spend many hours in front of a computer have a greater risk of developing computer ergonomics problems and computer vision syndrome. Computer ergonomicsis the study of people's efficiency at their computer work stations. Problems with computer ergonomics are closely associated with computer vision syndrome, which can affect children as well as adults.


Too much unsupervised computer work may cause vision problems for kids.

Another potential problem of too much screen time (from computers, e-readers, video games and smartphones) for children's eyes is overexposure to harmfulblue light. All digital devices with viewing screens emit significant amounts of blue light (also called "high-energy visible light" or "HEV light") which might increase a child's risk of macular degeneration later in life.

Though the sun emits significantly more HEV light than computers and other digital devices, the added exposure to blue light kids receive from these devices and how close these electronic screens are to a child's eyes for hours each day have many eye care providers worried about potential eye damage over time.

And many eye care practitioners who specialize in children's vision believe prolonged computer use among children puts them at risk for progressive myopia.