ofut@gatech.UUCP (11/18/83)
I wonder if anyone has looked into the effect of a lot of reading on
childrens eyes? It seems that most of the people I know who say they
read a lot as kids wear glasses. This isn't a scientific study but
everyday observation. Is there any correlation?
My family supports this, I read the most and have the worst eyes, my
youngest sister read the least and barely needs glasses at all.
--
Jeff Offutt
School of ICS, Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA
CSNet: Ofut @ GATech ARPA: Ofut.GATech @ Csnet-Relay
uucp: ...!{akgua,allegra,rlgvax,sb1,unmvax,ulysses,ut-sally}!gatech!ofuttjt@kobold.UUCP (T.J.Teixeira) (11/19/83)
Well, I'll offer at least one counter-example: I probably read the
most and don't wear glasses, while two of my three sibling's wear
glasses.
--
Tom Teixeira, Massachusetts Computer Corporation. Westford MA
...!{harpo,decvax,ucbcad,tektronix}!masscomp!tjt (617) 692-6200wombat@uicsl.UUCP (11/21/83)
#R:gatech:-222600:uicsl:22800002:000:798 uicsl!wombat Nov 20 15:39:00 1983 I don't think it's that valid (that people who read a lot as children end up wearing glasses). I think in my family it's more easily explained by the fact that I (having one nearsighted eye) take after my mom's side, which is notorious for bad eyesight, and my two brothers (with "average" eyes) take after my dad's side, which in general, has fairly good eyesight. True, I've always read more than they have, but might it not be just as valid to say that kids with poor sight are more likely to turn to a book, which they can hold at any distance they like, than to spend all day playing ball, where other kids will laugh at them for being so klutzy? Many times, children's eyesight problems aren't detected for years, and by then habits have formed. Wombat ihnp4!uiucdcs!uicsl!wombat
hon@ihuxv.UUCP (Herb Norton) (11/22/83)
Our family provides a counter-example to the thesis that kids who read most need glasses. My elder daughter reads much more that the younger one (10 and 7), but the younger one wears glasses and the elder doesn't. Herb Norton
preece@uicsl.UUCP (12/04/83)
#R:gatech:-222600:uicsl:22800003:000:389 uicsl!preece Nov 20 23:26:00 1983 Further anecdotal evidence: Although I, my brother, both my parents, and all four of their parents have terrible vision and thick glasses, my sister's vision is perfect. She reads just about the same amount as the rest of us (a lot). My understanding is that most vision problems are physiological and are basically unaffected by exercise of any kind. scott preece uiucdcs!uicsl!preece
julian@deepthot.UUCP (Julian Davies) (04/12/84)
[] A passing comment on learning to read early. Waldorf schools don't believe in it for various reasons. In fact the Waldorf curriculum has the children learn to Write before they learn to read. Part but not all of the reason is that learning to read may tend to stimulate the 'intellectual' levels in the mind, and Waldorf philosophy deemphasizes intellectual skills in the junior grades in favour of 'artistic' activities (in a very broad sense). Writing is approached as an artistic and movement thing; treating the letters as iconic signs at first rather than as merely constituents of words and sentences. Words and spelling come later, with the reading. At least, this is my understanding of the reason. Julian Davies