Hi -

This is a great thread. If you haven't seen http://www.screenagersmovie.com/ it's worth screening.

Also - here's a ton of articles on our blog http://treehouseeyes.com/the-myopia-blog/ several of which recap and link to studies re the linkage between too much screentime and the myopia epidemic.

Thanks.

Thom
thom@treehouseeyes.com

Yes, PP!

We've got a lot of articles on our blog http://treehouseeyes.com/the-myopia-blog/ about this topic - getting our kids more outdoor play and less screentime is very good for all sorts of health reasons.

Thanks.

Thom
thom@treehouseeyes.com

Hi -

Maybe one more reason for less screentime and more outdoor playtime is the connection with worsening myopia aka nearsightedness.

It might motivate your kids if they think they can avoid stronger glasses each year for the next 20.

Here' some info from our blog page, http://treehouseeyes.com/the-myopia-blog/ with several articles about the relationship between too much screentime and too little outdoor time contributing to the myopia epidemic.

Hope the best for you, your husband and the kids!

And thanks very much for letting me post.

Thom
thom@treehouseeyes.com

This is a great and informative thread. We blogged recently about "what kids see when they can't see the board" - http://treehouseeyes.com/the-myopia-blog/parents-on-vr-what-kids-see-when-they-cant-see-the-board. It's an interesting experiment to show parents what it's like when their kids have a hard time seeing the board - for a host of reasons.

Thanks for letting me post - and if OP or any other parent has questions about what you can finally do instead of just getting glasses, please fee free to message me or visit our site http://treehouseeyes.com/ for more info. Btw - we are in Bethesda and Tysons if that's close to you.

Enjoy,

Thom
Thom@treehouseeyes.com

This is an awesome question and great advice from all. There's also another alternative which we didn't have available when my 5 kids were growing up on Capitol Hill - myopia control. I work with Treehouse Eyes here in DC area and many of our young patients end up leaving their glasses at home after they start treatment. Here's a recent blog post http://treehouseeyes.com/the-myopia-blog/kids-and-glasses-a-treehouse-eyes-case-study of a patient case study who sounds a lot like your 12-yr old, OP.

Thanks very much for letting me post here - and please feel free to message me if you have any questions.

Many thanks - enjoy,

Thom
Thom@Treehouseeyes.com

Hello all,

This is a topic near/dear to me since I have 5 kids AND I work with Treehouse Eyes here in DC metro area. Screen fatigue can be a drag for us adults, but there's an even bigger problem for too much screentime (and the related not enough outdoor time) for our growing kids.

I just posted this curated recap http://treehouseeyes.com/the-myopia-blog/from-screen-time-to-sunshine-myopia-crisis-coverage-in-the-news/ of recent news coverage of all this here on our blog. Hopefully you'll find it helpful.

Thanks for letting me post here - and please feel free to message me if you have any questions.

Many thanks - enjoy!

Thom
TreehouseEyes.com

Hi all,

I work at Treehouse Eyes here in suburban MD & VA, and just wanted to give a shout to the alternative to just getting glasses. We treat only kids with myopia control treatments like ortho K and atropine drops. If your child is myopic and you'd like to learn more here's a link to our site http://treehouseeyes.com.

Thanks for letting me post here - and feel free to message me if you need more info.

Enjoy,

Thom
thom@treehouseeyes.com

PS I have 5 kids of my own, the youngest is 16. I get nostalgic for the days when they were young just reading our forum here.

Echoing previous poster above - here's a link to WMACS camps - http://wmacscamp.org/

Many of our patient families are involved in WMACS, great org.

Enjoy,

Thom
http://treehouseeyes.com

Hi,

I work with Treehouse Eyes in Bethesda. We don't sell glasses, rather we treat myopia. Not sure if, OP, your daughter is nearsighted but if yes, here's some info about myopia and eye disease and what we can finally do about it -
http://treehouseeyes.com/myopia-and-eye-disease/

Thanks for letting me share here.

Enjoy,

Thom