COLOMBO: Preliminary testing of eyes, teeth and ears of a group of students who had entered Grade One this year at a school in the Kalutara District, by teachers of the school and health sectors, six students have failed to read at a standard distance of 10, 12 meters.
When teachers had made inquiries, they had got to know that parents had given these children mobile phones from pre-school age when they started crying and to calm them down.
Health sectors as well as teachers said that to comfort crying children,to feed them and even to give them medications and liquids certain parents use a mobile phone with a large screen as a tool and it is quite apparent in present society. They said that this should not be done and that there is a big possibility that it could become an obstacle to future studies of children.
The teachers of the school, Public Health Inspectors, and doctors have intervened and subjected these children to further tests and made arrangements to send them to clinics at the closest hospital.
Consultant Opthalmologist of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital Dr. Dharma Irugalbandara, said that the reason for eye disease in children is the use of mobile phones and other electronic devices. Since children got used to mobile phones and computers during COVID time, she said that children have become victims of eye diseases.
She said that children have started to study online, from pre-school age, and learning online during the last COVID season became common and as a result, children have suffered from mental illnesses and eye disorders.
She also stated that children squinting while using mobile phones, engaging in other activities such as educational activities and squinting under dim light at home, children not being exposed to the sun, etc. have caused children to suffer from eye problems.Daily News
