Are very young children ever given glasses for myopia?
Pre-schoolers are not given glasses unless the myopia is significant. Detailed distance vision, such as for school and driving, is not yet needed. If myopia is severe, though, as in some premature babies, glasses are given even in infancy. Can myopia run in families? Yes. If neither parent is myopic, a child’s chance of becoming myopic is about 1 in 10. If one parent is myopic, the chance increases to about 1 in 5. If both parents are myopic, odds are 50-50 or more. Does excessive reading or near work cause myopia? Many people believe this, but it is difficult to prove. We know heredity contributes to myopia (see above). But in any given person, it is hard to say how much myopia is due to heredity and how much to something else, like excessive close work. Even if reading tended to make myopia worse, few parents would want to discourage their child from reading. It is also not clear what it is about reading that might make myopia worse. If it were the effort of focusing up close, bifoca
