News
Shortsightedness among children on the rise due to digital screen addiction
Giving smartphones to pacify children is making matters worse
By Rathindra Kuruwita
Myopia among children was on the rise due to increased exposure to digital screens, Consultant Paediatric Eye Surgeon at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children Dr. Anusha Tennekumbura stated in a recent televised interview.
“Children now spend long hours staring at phones, computers, or TV screens. At the same time, they spend less time outdoors. This shift is altering the structure of their eyes,” she explained.
While prolonged exposure to digital screens was harmful to adults, the impact on children was significantly greater as their bodies were still developing, Dr. Tennekumbura said, noting that according to guidelines in developed countries, children under 18 months should not be exposed to digital screens at all. “Children aged between 18 months and three years can watch age-appropriate, quality programmes for less than one hour a day, and parents should be with them. Children in kindergarten and primary school should have screen time limited to under 90 minutes a day. Older children, who often require technology for educational purposes, should restrict non-educational screen use to less than two hours a day,” she said.
She also raised concerns about parents increasingly using smartphones to pacify their children. “Many parents give phones to their child before meals, claiming it is the only way to calm them down. This habit is often linked to overfeeding. Parents need to understand that children naturally eat less than adults and will usually consume as much as they need. However, some parents insist their child finishes the entire plate of food they’ve prepared,” she said.
Dr Tennekumbura recommended that children’s vision be tested at the age of four or five. In Sri Lanka, however, children typically had their vision checked for the first time in Grade One, through free school clinics. “If a child’s vision problems are not identified during these Grade One screenings, they may go undetected for several years until the next free clinic,” she noted.
She further emphasised that many children lost their vision due to preventable accidents at home or school. Parents and teachers, she urged, must educate children on safety measures to avoid activities that could lead to injuries and potential vision loss.
It has been reported that Attorney at Law Rakitha Rajapakshe, the son of former Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, has been arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) over alleged links with the underworld.
… alleges NPP trying to implement UPFA, UNP plan
Front-line Socialist Party (FSP) yesterday (24) alleged that the NPP government’s move to amalgamate the Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) and the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), under a unified, tripartite governance framework, would be detrimental to the private sector workers.
Addressing the media at Melder Place, Nugegoda, FSP spokesman Duminda Nagamuwa said that the Cabinet of Ministers approved this proposal on 15 June.
Nagamuwa claimed that the NPP was trying to implement what President Mahinda Rajapaksa had sought to do, in 2011, causing the police to open fire on a group of the Export Processing Zone workers, protesting against the move to create a private pension scheme. A worker, identified as Roshen Chanaka, was shot by police on May 30, 2011, and he succumbed to his injuries.
Pointing out that the EPF and the ETF had been established for the benefit of private sector workers but with different objectives, Nagamuwa warned that amalgamation of the two funds could cause unnecessary complications.
The FSP spokesman said that Ravi Karunanayake, in his capacity as the Finance Minister of the Yahapalana government, in late November 2015 had declared their intention to amalgamate the ETF with the EPF.
FSP’s Pubudu Jayagoda told The Island that they expected all political parties, other than the NPP, to disclose their stand on the vital issue. Jayagoda urged the Opposition to take a stand on the vital issue .
By Shamindra Ferdinando
The Opposition yesterday argued in Parliament that the National Environment Amendment Bill was unconstitutional. The Opposition said that it violated the 13th Amendment.
SJB and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa argued that the approval of the Provincial Councils was required for the Bill to go ahead, as it was a subject in the Concurrent List of powers as per the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
The MP also said that the clause which enables the Central Government to file legal actions against Local Government bodies was unconditional as well, since local bodies are included in the Provincial Councils list.
“How can you go ahead at a time when the Provincial Councils do not function properly,” Premadasa questioned.
ITAK MP P. Sathyalingam also raised the issue, but Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne, who responded, said the MPs could raise the relevant matters during the debate.
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