Since March, our kids have been spending MUCH more time in front of the computer. Some kids are taking synchronous learning via Zoom, which means they are in front of the computer for a full school day, five days a week. For most people, this is way too much screen time. If your child is complaining of eye issues, try these tips to improve eye fatigue.
Tips to Improve Eye Fatigue from Online School
My 10-year old is homeschooled, but she’s still on the computer much more than she used to be. She has eight hours of therapy a week online, she’s taking some Outschool classes, and she’s had a bit more screen time than normal thanks to the pandemic. After a few months of this, she started complaining about her eyes hurting. Taking these steps, we’ve remedied some of the problem.
Buy Blue Light Filtering Glasses
Probably the best thing we did was buy blue light filtering glasses. Anytime our daughter has to use the computer, she uses her glasses. She finds such relief from eye fatigue using these, that she won’t even use the computer if she can’t find them.
Turn Down the Brightness on the Computer
The other thing she did was turn down the brightness on her computer almost all the way. This helps reduce the amount of light she gets and also reduces eye squinting.
Limit Consecutive Computer Activities
She’s very firm now that she doesn’t want one computer activity after the other. She repeatedly asks me to schedule her Zoom sessions with at least an hour or two separation so that her eyes have time to rest. By doing this, along with using the blue light filtering glasses and turning down the brightness of the computer, she’s been able to resolve most of her eye fatigue.
Take Eye Breaks
Of course, we have the luxury of scheduling breaks for her computer activities. Kids in synchronous online classes don’t get that choice. If that’s the case for your child, teach them the rule of 20-20-20. For every 20 minutes staring at the screen, look at an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This gives your eyes the chance to refocus and helps prevent eye fatigue.
Limit Computer Usage
Finally, if you’re able, limit your child’s computer usage. On the days our daughter uses the computer a lot for therapies and school, we limit her free time on the computer. (She actually asked to do this.) Rather than 30 minutes of free computer time, she has 15, or she foregoes it altogether.
See an Eye Doctor
Photo by Liam Welch on Unsplash
If you use all of these tips to improve eye fatigue and your child still has issues, consider seeing an eye doctor to make sure the discomfort is not caused by something more serious.
Final Thoughts
Thanks to the pandemic, our lives have changed in ways we couldn’t have imagined a year ago. Problems creep up like eye fatigue that need remedies. If your children’s vision is suffering, hopefully these tips to improve eye fatigue from online school will help reduce their discomfort.
Read More
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Why the Pandemic Affected Our School Choice
What You Need to Know to Homeschool Your Child in the Age of COVID
Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in Arizona where she dislikes the summer heat but loves the natural beauty of the area.