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Milestones & myths
What's normal at each age, and the old advice that deserves a kind correction.
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Carrots, dim light and other eye myths parents still hear
Carrots, dim light, sitting close to the screen: most of what your mother-in-law told you is harmless folklore. One myth on this list is different, and it is the one that costs children their sight.
Key takeaways
- Carrots support healthy vision but will not sharpen a child's eyesight beyond normal or keep them out of glasses.
- Reading in dim light and sitting close to the television do not damage a child's eyes, though sitting unusually close can be a sign of short-sightedness rather than a cause.
- Correct glasses do not weaken a child's eyes or make them dependent; skipping a needed prescription is the real risk.
Milestones & myths
Carrots, dim light and other eye myths parents still hear
Which eye myths are harmless folklore, and which one genuinely costs children their sight.
Milestones & myths
Dark circles under a child's eyes: usually the nose
Twelve hours of sleep and still shadowed. Why dark circles in a child usually point at an allergic nose.
Milestones & myths
Blinking, squeezing and tics: telling the three apart
Irritation, allergy or a habit tic. The three behave differently, and you can often tell which one you are watching.
Milestones & myths
Do carrots or fish oil improve eyesight?
A real disease hides under the carrot myth. Here is why that does not mean more carrots, or fish oil, sharpen a healthy child's sight.
Milestones & myths
Eye exercises and vision therapy, what the evidence says
One narrow eye problem responds to exercises. The wider promises do not hold up. How to tell which one you are being offered.
Milestones & myths
Reading difficulty is usually not an eye problem
The eye test comes first, and not for the reason most parents assume. What it rules out, and what it will not fix.
Milestones & myths
What ah ma got right about your child's eyes
Outdoor play, shared towels, reading lamps and carrots. Which grandmother rules hold up, and the one that costs children sight.
Milestones & myths
Why does my child pull out their own eyelashes?
Patchy lashes during homework or screen time are usually a habit, not naughtiness. Here is how to tell it apart, and what helps.
Milestones & myths
Vitamin A and children's eyes: what real deficiency looks like
Real deficiency is rare and staged. Here is what it looks like, and who is actually at risk.
Milestones & myths
Down syndrome and your child's eyes: a check-up schedule for the whole of childhood
The eye part of Down syndrome care runs the whole of childhood, not just the first check. Here is the schedule and why.
Milestones & myths
Eye checks for children on long-term steroid medication
Long-term steroid medicine can quietly change a child's eye pressure or lens. Here is why an eye check belongs alongside the treatment.
Milestones & myths
Eye checks for children with cerebral palsy or developmental delay
A child who cannot point, speak or hold still can still have their eyes properly checked. Here is how.
Milestones & myths
Kohl or celak on a newborn's eyes: the tradition, and the real risk
What is actually in kohl, celak, kajal and surma, why lead and unsterile applicators matter, and what a family can do instead.
Milestones & myths
Why a baby's eye colour changes in the first year
The usual timeline for eye colour to settle, why genetics is not as simple as it sounds, and the signs that are not just colour changing.
Milestones & myths
Lutein gummies and eye vitamins for children: what the trials show
A few small trials, a modest scan change, no proof of benefit.
Milestones & myths
My child's eyelid keeps twitching. Is it a flutter or a tic?
A twitching eyelid: flutter, tic or blinking, what sets it off, and when to have it looked at.
Milestones & myths
Can drops, supplements or a laser dissolve Ah Ma's cataract? What helps and when surgery is due
Drops, supplements and laser versus cataract: what the evidence says and when surgery is due.
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