We’re in an era where technology is everywhere. And, it’s also growing at a rapid pace.
Like, seriously. The Huawei P30 has a camera capable of zooming in from a very far distance, you can even see what another person is doing in the opposite block. Including the ingredient list of the Maggi Mee he’s having.
Let’s not forget the new iPads, iPhones and MacBooks that Apple is going to release over the next few years. How did the 3Gs evolve into the XS? Technology.
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Now, even young children these days own a mobile phone of their own.
That’s scary.
I never got my own phone until I was Primary 3. And even then, it was one of those Sony Ericsson Walkman phones. Those were cool back then.
But what if kids get smartphone even before they can spell “smartphone”?
Diagnosed with Short-sightednessÂ
I’ve seen children as young as Primary 1 owning an iPhone 8, but this is a whole new level of young.
According to the China Times, a two-year-old girl, Xiao Man, from Jiangsu, was diagnosed with severe myopia.
Yes, two. Two and a half years old, to be exact.
Apparently, the girl’s parents were not strict with her. So at one year old, she was already allowed to use a smartphone.
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Crazy, I know. Maybe Baby-Sharking?
Since she was quiet and calm while using the phone, her family members let her play it for hours. But what does a one-year-old play on a smartphone? Are there mobile games for one-year-olds?
She can’t be watching hours of Baby Shark, right?
Early Signs
As the year passed, she began to squint and frown at the phone while using it. Her family thought she just developed bad habits while using the phone, and didn’t do anything about it.
What they discover next is probably going to be the biggest shock of their lives.
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One day, they decided to bring her for a check-up. It isn’t known if it’s to the doctor’s or an optometrist.
To their horror, they discovered that their daughter had developed 900-degree short-sightedness.
At two years old, that is alarming. Very, very alarming.
After all, here in Singapore, we’re used to having short-sightedness when we start primary school.
Might Get Worst
According to some eye doctors, there is a way to slow down the progression of myopia in young children. But for this poor girl, the damage is permanent and there is no way of reversing it.
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The doctor said that Xiao Man was too young to use electronic devices, and the damage was irreversible. He also said that it was possible for it to worsen as she grew older.
That really sucks.
AdviceÂ
The doctor then advised that young children below the age of three should not be allowed to use electronic devices or mobile phones. At all.
Which means no Baby Sharking to shut your baby up.
Children aged between three and six should only use such devices for a maximum of 30 minutes per day. More book reading, perhaps?
Parents should always lookout for signs that their children could be having problems with their vision. These include:
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- Frequent rubbing of eyes
- Frequent blinking
- Frequent squinting
- Frowning
Or any similar actions. Myopia does not have a cure yet, but there are ways to slow down its progression.
And as what a wise man once said, keep myopia at bay. Go outdoors and play.
But How True Could This Be?
If you’ve come into our app daily (which you really should, because waiting for Facebook to bring you informative and entertaining articles is like waiting for your wooden boyfriend / husband to give you a surprise: it’s impossible), you’d have read an article about the misconception of short-sightedness; apparently, according to a study that took twenty years to conclude, watching TV in close proximity isn’t the cause of short-sightedness.
Instead, the culprit is your genes.
However, there hasn’t been any study on babies using smartphone, so to play safe, just Baby Shark for a maximum of 30 minutes.
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