I thought this was the most appropriate place for this posting but if it fits better elsewhere then feel free to move it.
The first thing to say is that i am not a health care professional ,clinician,optometrist etc.
Do your own reading and research as i have done and if concerned, contact your optometrist/take advice.
Myopia, or short sightedness is on the increase.
There has been a lot of research into why this is happening and there is peer reviewed/published research to support the theories as to why this is happening.
Of course myopia can develop for a number of reasons eg genetic causes etc.
A new theory is that the global increase in myopia is linked to the lifestyles of young children. That they spend too much time indoors/too much screen time and that crucially, in their developmental years from birth to later childhood, they are not spending enough time outdoors and being exposed to outdoor light.
It is theorised that this leads to abnormal development of the eye at its early stages and that once this abnormal development begins, it continues to progress leading to varying degrees of myopia which is often progressive.
At its simplest someone who has myopia has an eyeball with a front to back axial length which is longer than optimal. This leads to inaccurate focusing of the image on the retina.
Of course you can correct such errors with glasses.contact lenses ,laser surgery of various types etc etc but the core structure of the eye is still defective ie it is too long.
Why does this matter? Well it matters because along with myopia come other complications. Increased risk of premature PVD, possible higher risk of retinal tears,retinal detachment, all of which are sight threatening conditions.
Many optometrists now market early stage treatments for childhood myopia. They can supply special lenses ,worn at night, to reshape the cornea of the eye which has been found to slow down myopia progression in children .
Prevention is better than cure. As early as possible give them plenty of natural light exposure and dont expose them to screens for excessive lengths of time.
coopervision.com.my/contact-lenses/misight