Play your way to better eyesight

By Orit Kruglanski

In this book you will learn what good seeing habits are and how to teach them to children in a fun and easy way. It is meant for parents and caretakers who want to impove eyesight and eye health naturally and lower the need for glasses. It is based on the Bates method and adapted for children. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orit Kruglanski
• Release date: Oct 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215664926

Orit Kruglanski

Orit Kruglanski is a writer and visual educator. She helps people of all ages play their way to better eyesight, reduce eye strain and their need for glasses. She was first prescribed glasses when she was seven, and at thirty eight started improving her vision from -8.5 diopters to her current no-glasses life. She is the author of I see clearly, an illustrated Bates Method book for children (and adults who secretly buy it for themselves). She is a member of the American Vision Educator Association (AVE) and of the Spanish Association for Visual Education (VEA). She lives in Barcelona, writes poetry and children's books. You can find some of the topics in this book explored in more detail in her blog iseeclearly.org.

Book preview

Play Your Way to Better Eyesight

A parent's guide to natural eyesight care and improvement

Orit Kruglanski

iseeclearly.org

[e-mail]

Copyright © 2022 Orit Kruglanski

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

The content of this book is intended for educational purposes only. It is not, in any sense, diagnosing or advising any medical treatment for any pathological condition and is not a replacement for advice or care from a qualified health care professional.

Heartfelt thanks to all my colleagues who have instructed and inspired me with their actions, words and vision, especially to Andrea Buch for her support and wisdom, and to Esther Joy Van Der Werf, Anat Axelrode, Lizzie May and Maurizio Cagnoli for their comments and suggestions.

Edited by Emma Elis

Play Your Way to Better Eyesight

A parent's guide to natural eyesight care and improvement

Orit Kruglanski

iseeclearly.org

[e-mail]

Table of Contents

Welcome!

Eyesight CAN improve

Part One: Vision Lost and Found

Clear vision, blurry vision - two different ways of seeing

A problem occurs

Emotions affect the body

And vice versa, the body affects emotions

Favorable conditions for improving eyesight

Feeling safe

Together

If you do nothing else, go outside

Get the most out of vision games

A quick word on glasses

Part Two: Elements To Play With

One little thing at a time and everything around it

A more in-depth look at focusing

Play at seeing one thing at a time

The wide peripheral field of vision

Play to activate peripheral vision

Relaxation

Looking far

Play at looking far

Yawn, blink and breathe

Yawn

Play at yawning

Blink

Play at blinking

Breathe

Play at breathing

Movement

Seeing movement

Notice the movement of stationary objects

Play at seeing apparent movement

Playing ball is good for your eyes

Play ball

Light and darkness

Sunlight

Play with sunlight:

Darkness

Resting in the dark: palming

Play while you palm

Darkness is good for you

Playing in the dark

Sleep tight with no light

The mind’s eye: imagination, memory and make believe

Play with your mind's eye

One eye, two eyes

Two points of view

Recommendations for eye patching

Play with one eye covered

Seeing double

Basic double finger trick

Play at seeing double!

Part Three: What About Glasses?

Glasses don’t improve eyesight

Making good use of glasses

Prepare for your eye exam

Part Four: An Eyesight Improvement Mindset

Being play-full

Trust your child

My child is awesome

Unstructured time

Choosing the right activity

Habits form day by day

Final words

About Dr. Bates and his method

About the author

Welcome!

In recent decades, as we see more and more children wearing glasses, parents and educators are turning in curiosity towards natural vision. The medical profession seems to explain away eyesight problems as something that just happens and not much you can do, while natural vision offers clear answers and practical solutions based on care and prevention.

So, can we take better care of our eyes and teach our children to do so?

Of course we can. And not only that, taking better care of our eyes can be, literally, child's play.

Our society is highly visual and much of our children's play is already dedicated to developing visual skills. All you have to do, really, is get to know what good seeing habits are and make sure they are present in your child's play-life. Promoting good seeing habits is the antidote for our society's declining eyesight.

These simple habits, easy to understand and put into practice, were discovered by ophthalmologist Dr. W.H. Bates. He studied the habits of people with good eyesight and found that when people with visual problems adopt the same habits, their eyesight improves.

In this book I will explain what you need to know in order to do just that. As you go through it, you will be able to identify the beneficial elements in your family's current play life and learn fun ways to add the missing pieces, so you can help your children to better eyesight by doing things you enjoy.

And speaking of joy... this book teaches natural vision through play, which makes it especially relevant for parents and caretakers, but each one of us has a child inside. Regardless of your age, you can play your way to better eyesight and eye health.

One thing you should know before we start...

Eyesight CAN improve

When I was a child I was fitted with glasses. I was told from the very start that eyesight can only get worse and that I would be stuck with glasses (or contact lenses, or operations) for the rest of my life. No explanation was offered, nor did my parents ask for one. I was simply born this way and there seemed to be nothing we could do about it. We could only keep track of my deteriorating eyesight by going for