Are 3D Movies Harmful for Children’s Eyes?

3D movies carry no significant threat for your child’s vision. There is no scientific proof that 3D images or films can impair vision – on the contrary, 3D media are very similar to what we see in real life. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, 3D poses no danger to the eyesight of children and teenagers.

When the child sees something it means that his or her brain creates a three-dimensional image of the view owing to a difference between what each eye sees. With a 3D movie the effect is achieved by the glasses that recreate the manner of vision by picking the respective images for each eye. It is a little bit more complicated with 3D video games, though, where the onscreen images are placed in such a fashion as to furnish two specific images for the child’s eyes.

Recently, there’s been a warning issued by video game and other 3D device creators to the effect that children under 6 years old shouldn’t be allowed to use 3D products because they can interfere with their developing vision. Nevertheless, it’s more a kind of a preventive measure than a serious health concern.

The warnings miss by about 3 years, for it’s believed that the eye development is mainly through by 3 years of age, when the child doesn’t come into frequent contact with 3D games and videos; anyway, they don’t present such a great difference to how the kid is accustomed to taking in the home and neighborhood environment.

What represents a true problem is motion-caused sickness and eye fatigue, which are especially pungent if your child goes to a movie theater. As soon as the screen flashes alive, there’s a lot of motion, some of it too fast, rapid oncoming movement, aggravated by dim lighting and changing of the focus. It’s not very easy to take it all in, and some viewers react adversely.

If your kid begins to show signs of tiredness, tell them to shut the eyes for several minutes and see if it will be better if they take a seat nearer or farther from the screen.

There are people who are more and less immune to the onset of eye fatigue or motion sickness. Children having irregular eye alignment, known as strabismus, are more susceptible to tiredness, headaches, or dizziness if they are exposed to 3D for a long time.