{"id":9785,"date":"2026-03-12T11:51:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T11:51:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/?p=9785"},"modified":"2026-03-12T12:00:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T12:00:31","slug":"childhood-myopia-why-it-is-increasing-and-what-parents-can-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/eye-diseases\/childhood-myopia-why-it-is-increasing-and-what-parents-can-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Childhood Myopia: Why It Is Increasing and What Parents Can Do"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221; woodmart_inline=&#8221;no&#8221; text_larger=&#8221;no&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h2>Why is myopia becoming more common in children?<\/h2>\n<p>In the last 30 years, childhood myopia has increased significantly worldwide. Some epidemiological studies estimate that by 2050 almost 50% of the world\u2019s population may be myopic.<\/p>\n<h2>Less time outdoors<\/h2>\n<p>The most important environmental factor identified is reduced exposure to natural light.<\/p>\n<h3>Why natural light matters<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Sunlight stimulates dopamine release in the retina.<\/li>\n<li>Dopamine appears to slow excessive eye growth.<\/li>\n<li>Many hours spent indoors reduce this protective mechanism.<\/li>\n<li>Children who spend at least 2 hours per day outdoors have lower myopia risk.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Prolonged near work<\/h2>\n<p>Short-distance visual tasks also play an important role.<\/p>\n<h3>Common near\u2011work activities<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Tablets<\/li>\n<li>Smartphones<\/li>\n<li>Prolonged reading<\/li>\n<li>Video games<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It is not only the screens themselves, but <strong>many hours focusing at very close distances<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>Anatomical consequence<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Promotes elongation of the eyeball.<\/li>\n<li>This elongation is the anatomical basis of myopia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Genetic factors<\/h2>\n<p>Genetics still plays an important role.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If one parent is myopic, the risk increases.<\/li>\n<li>If both parents are myopic, the risk increases even more.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>However, genetics has not changed in the last 30 years \u2014 lifestyle has.<\/p>\n<h2>What can parents do?<\/h2>\n<h3>Evidence\u2011based recommendations<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>At least 2 hours outdoors daily<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Frequent breaks during near\u2011work or screen use<\/li>\n<li>Maintain a reading distance greater than 30\u201340 cm<\/li>\n<li>Limit prolonged screen use in young children<\/li>\n<li>Regular eye examinations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why early myopia detection matters<\/h2>\n<p>Myopia is not just a matter of needing glasses. High myopia increases lifetime risk of:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Retinal detachment<\/li>\n<li>Glaucoma<\/li>\n<li>Myopic macular degeneration<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Early detection and control of childhood myopia is essential.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Recommended internal links<\/h2>\n<p>Explore related topics in English: <a href=\"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/eye-diseases\/\">https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/eye-diseases\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>To book an appointment: <a href=\"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/book-online\/\">https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/book-online\/<\/a><\/p>\n<section class=\"post-eaat medico\" aria-label=\"Medical review\">\n<h2>Medical review<\/h2>\n<p>Reviewed by: <strong>Dr. Antonio Soler Garc\u00eda<\/strong>, Medical Director at SolEyes Fuengirola.<br \/>\n<strong>Medical license number:<\/strong> 292907906.<br \/>\n<strong>Updated on:<\/strong> 2026-03-12.<\/p>\n<h3>Important notice<\/h3>\n<p>This content is informational and does <strong>not<\/strong> replace professional medical evaluation.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221; woodmart_inline=&#8221;no&#8221; text_larger=&#8221;no&#8221;] Why is myopia becoming more common in children? In the last 30 years, childhood myopia has<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9782,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[138],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eye-diseases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9785"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9786,"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9785\/revisions\/9786"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soleyes.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}