Q: My son is 4.2 years old. He is wearing spectacles for the last three months full time for spherical power. I allow him to watch TV only for one hour per day and use PC for only two hours in a week. Recently, I have bought a 37 inch LCD TV and I am worried that his eye sight will be affected by this. I make him sit 6-8 feet away from the LCD TV and allow him only one hour a day to watch cartoons. I understand that LCD TVs don't give away radiation like normal TVs that are made of cathode ray tubes. But I am still worried that my son's eye sight will be further affected by watching LCD TV. Please advise.

A:The correct viewing distance for a TV of 37 inches size is approximately 7-8 feet. The parent is correct in making the child sit beyond 6 feet from the TV. Ideally, TV viewing should be restricted to 30-60 minutes per day for a child. However, this in itself is not a cause for deterioration of sight in children. Refractive errors tend to change with age, and regular visits to the ophthalmologist will help to modify glasses as required.