Opticians across Lincolnshire and Newark reveal concerns about children's screen time
Parents are being urged to limit how long they spend on laptops and tablets
Concerns are being raised across Lincolnshire and Newark about the amount children are spending looking at computers, iphones tablets and the like.
Parents are being urged to limit their child's screen time to reduce the risk of them suffering damage to their eyes.
A study shows five to 16-year-olds spend an average six hours a day staring at screens.
We spoke to Dr Martin Smith who's an optician in Lincoln.
He told us: "If children are looking at screens - or even adults - every 20 minutes you take a 20 second break to look at something more than 20 metres away."
"Obviously those numbers are being chosen because they're all the same and it's easy to remember. "
"The general theme is every so often get up and walk around."
They need to be outside sometimes
"Particularly children with short sighted parents should try and spend at least 2 hours outside every day".
"It's important to protect the eyes at the same time - we also advise wearing sunglasses and sun hats."
"Too much sunlight can over a lifetime damage the back of the eye."
"In children in particular spending a lot of time indoors and looking at screens seems to lead to an increase in short sightedness."
"Children can get blurred vision in the distance and need spectacles to correct that."