Earlier this month, we reported that Shanghai released its glasses standards for children. Well, it turns out it may be more necessary than we thought. A recent survey conducted by China Youth suggests that 72.7 percent of Chinese parents admit that their little ones suffer from myopia.
In total, there were 1,951 parents of primary and middle school kids who participated in the survey. The results reveal that 72.7 percent of Chinese youth have myopia, also known as short-sightedness, which causes distant objects to be out of focus while nearby objects are clear. Over 90 percent of the parents also worry that the condition of their kids’ eyesight may worsen.
Without a doubt, addiction to cell phones is the dominant factor causing such defects. "More and more kids wear glasses over the years," Jin Hongmei, a teacher from the Experimental School of Beihang University told China Youth. “Although smartphones are prohibited in our school, students will still sneak their phones to the classroom and skim through their social media pages during classes and lunch breaks. The degree of some students'short-sightedness has reached a high level.”
According to the survey, 5.4 percent of the kids have high-level myopia (-6.00 diopters or more), and the percentage for low and moderate myopia are 34.5 and 32.8 respectively. Only 27.3 percent of the kids have no concerns over short-sightedness, less than one-third of the whole group.
To our surprise, most parents state they are aware of the fact that less time spent indoors is good for their kids’ eyesight. Nevertheless, it’s easier said than done. “Many schools can’t guarantee their students two hours’ outdoor activities during workdays,” says Li Ran, one of the surveyed parents. “On weekends, my boy is either stuck with piles of homework or busy with his video games.”
Now that the vacation is here, maybe it’s time to take your little ones on a trip and temporarily stay away from homework and video games for the sake of eye protection.
[Images via Sohu]
