Scientists have found that more time spent outside, where the eyes are constantly adjusting from objects which are close up and those which are further away, could help reverse the effect.
Marguerite Hunter Blair, chief executive of Play Scotland, said modern children spend less time looking at the horizon than youngsters of previous generations.
“The problem is too much time spent looking at objects which are close. It isn’t necessarily just tablets and phones, it can be books as well, or children who spend a lot of time playing indoors with Lego. We are not demonising the digital age. Children are just not looking at the horizon enough, especially between the crucial ages of birth and eight.”