Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hmm. You can try, but my parents were never able to do it to me. To this day I'm adept at reading while doing other things...brushing my teeth, cooking, getting dressed. You can't un-make a reader.

how's your eyesight?

Crappy, but crazy myopia runs in my family.

Anonymous wrote:Hmm. You can try, but my parents were never able to do it to me. To this day I'm adept at reading while doing other things...brushing my teeth, cooking, getting dressed. You can't un-make a reader.

how's your eyesight?

Hmm. You can try, but my parents were never able to do it to me. To this day I'm adept at reading while doing other things...brushing my teeth, cooking, getting dressed. You can't un-make a reader.

Don't interfere with your child's reading, OP. Tell him he has to come to meals, get ready for bed, do his homework, but otherwise, let him read as long as he wants. He's going to stop to go to the bathroom or get a snack, or when he hears something going on in the house, so don't worry that he's reading for 1 hour straight. Few kids do that, nor do many adults. Even if he does read for an hour, it's not a bad thing, OP. Natural interruptions for normal things like going to bed are fine, but making him stop to rest his eyes, well, I'm pretty sure he's going to do that on his own. I don't have to remind myself to look away from my computer screen every 30 minutes or so. My eyes get tired, and I look away, or stop to do something, even if it's just scratch my butt! You sound like a worried mom, OP. Try to relax! Your child will give you real things to worry about when he's a teenager, so preserve your energy!

Anonymous wrote:7-yo DS likes to read, mostly Star Wars and mystery books. Recently he's been reading longer and longer every day, and sometimes would read one hour straight if we didn't stop him. Obviously i don't want to discourage him from reading, but for the health of his eyes and for the balance of activities, i wonder if there could be a reasonable and well-intended limit on his reading, and how to go about it. please share your thoughts/experience if you've considered something similar before. tks.

Oh, please. When I was growing up, I used to read a book a day during summer vacation, and I still read at least one book per week. Reading is one of the absolute best thing a child can do. If you can read you can do anything. Good lord, now parents are going to start treating reading the same as they do TV. The evils of reading.

My DD (9 YO) loves to read. We have to restrict it, otherwise she stays up too late reading, and can;t get up in the morning.

Reading occurs after the other homework is done.

Not the worst problem to have.

http://www.yeseyecare.com/managing-your-childs-eye-health/common-eye-conditions-for-children.html

The following are good eye care tips for your child:

Reduce time spent in near work
Reduce time spent on playing games in hand-held electronic devices, or handphone games and other computer-related activities such as blogging and internet chats.
Encourage your child to take a break after 30-40 minutes of near work such as reading or writing. Your child should look at distant objects for 3 to 5 minutes. They could look out of the window into the distance.

http://www.hpb.gov.sg/htm/pro/eyecare/goodeyecarehabits.html
Good Eye Care Habits

Give your eyes a break
• After 30 - 40 minutes of near work, you should take a vision break of 3 - 5 minutes. You can do so by looking at a distant object or out of the window.

http://drleesb.wordpress.com/2011/11/17/good-eye-care-habits/
Good eye care habits

(1) Reduce near work (reading, writing, using the computer) if you can and spend more time outdoors

(2) After every half hour of near work, look out of the window (look far) for a while

http://www.baby-maternity.com/children-health/myopia-in-children-practise-good-eyes-care-habits.html
Myopia In Children | Practice Good Eyes Care Habits

Always take a break at 30 to 40 minute intervals to rest your eyes. Look out at trees or any objects in a distance from your windows. Exercises your eyes to relax the eye.

Anonymous wrote:I would push his head into the book and rub it really hard into the page whenever I found him reading. I would also talk disparagingly about "book smarts" being a waste of time. Buy him a knife and send him on a gun-safety course. Teach him to trap animals.

thank you!!

So, if your son wants to be a doctor or lawyer, you will prevent him from doing so?...because of his eye sight.

Your son will eventually have to read much more than he is reading now - that is if you intend for him to go to college.

Did you go to college, OP?

OP, pls call the nurse's line at your pediatrician's office. You could be doing much more harm than good. At the very least, you're becoming a PITA to your kids way before it's necessary.

You make him stop reading every 30-40 minutes for his eyesight? I guess you were never much of a reader yourself, eh? He must get so upset with you. You are making it impossible for him to get really into his reading. Please stop this destructive practice and let the kid enjoy his reading.

Yes, I think you're right to revisit the eyesight question...I would also back off on enforcing breaks.

OP, my parents have great eye sight and all of us kids have poor eyesight - we are all readers. Stuff happens. I would seriously back off on the breaks. Yes, you probably do not want him reading at the table, etc, but a young boy with a passion for reading is a blessing. I was just talking with an early elementary educator and he was practically swooning that my 8 y.o. boy loves to read. Such a challenge at that age - don't send the signal that it is the "wrong" thing.

OP here with two clarifications -

1) of course he reads more than one hour per day - but i see how my OP could lead to misunderstanding. i was trying to say he'd continue to read for an hour straight if i don't stop him every 30 or 40 minutes to take a break. after the break he goes back to read again.

2) the reason for the breaks is my concern about the health of his eyes. now that i believe it could be a myth i'll educate myself on this a bit more and then act accordingly.

tks.

Are you serious? You must not be very bright, OP.

No, I would not restrict my 7 year olds time spent on reading because he could read for *gasp* an hour at a time.

What a control freak!