For parents · Free · Takes two minutes

Ask your school to protect your kids’ eyes and screens.

Your children spend hours a day on school-issued screens. A published, measurable screen health standard exists — and your district can require it in its next device purchase at no cost. This page writes the letter with you.

Ask your school Why it matters
THE TWO RANGES A SCREEN HEALTH REQUIREMENT MEASURES 435–440 NM peak of the blue-light hazard range ICNIRP (2013) · ANSI (2015) 480–500 NM the range that suppresses melatonin CIE S 026/E:2018 380 nm 780 nm EVERYTHING ELSE IS LEFT ALONE Two narrow bands out of the entire visible spectrum.
A measured requirement reduces these two bands while the screen still looks normal — and naming the band is what makes one product’s number comparable to another’s. More on the research →

Published by Eyesafe Inc. · Statements on this page are drawn from peer-reviewed research and public health guidance, cited in place · Full research library: eyesafe.com/research

Why ask

Children are more vulnerable to screen time and light from devices.

The screens are the same — the eyes behind them are not. A child’s lens is the clearest it will ever be, which means more of a screen’s blue light passes through to the retina than at any later age. That is why European health agencies name children an at-risk group for blue light exposure — and why the ask on this page is worth two minutes of your day.

Children’s eyes let in about 1.5× more of the light that affects sleep. Measured directly, children against adults: clearer lenses and larger pupils delivered 1.48× the circadian-active light dose — and 1.52× the melatonin suppression. Eto et al., 2021, Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics — see the research
The same evening light suppresses a child’s melatonin about twice as much as an adult’s. Under identical light, suppression was 88% in children versus 46% in adults — and ordinary room lighting suppressed melatonin in children but not in adults. France’s health agency ANSES names children a sensitive population for exactly this reason. Higuchi et al., 2014, J Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism; ANSES, 2019 — see the research
Sleep is what school runs on — and screens at bedtime cost kids sleep. Across 125,198 children, bedtime device use carried more than double the odds of inadequate sleep and of daytime sleepiness. Adolescents with chronically short sleep were four to five times more likely to fail a school subject, and nearly 3 in 4 US high schoolers already don’t get the sleep they need. Carter et al., 2016, JAMA Pediatrics; Titova et al., 2015; CDC, 2018 — see the research

The numbers behind those three points

~1.5× the circadian-active blue light dose reaches a child’s retina compared with an adult’s — measured directly: clearer lenses and larger pupils, with melatonin suppression correspondingly ~1.5× greater. Eto et al., 2021, Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics — children vs adults, measured
~2× children’s melatonin suppression under identical evening light compared with adults — and ordinary room lighting suppressed melatonin in children but not adults. Higuchi et al., 2014, J Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
2.2× the odds of inadequate sleep with bedtime device use across more than 125,000 children — 2.7× for excessive daytime sleepiness. Even an unused device in the bedroom raised the odds. Carter et al., 2016, JAMA Pediatrics — meta-analysis, N = 125,198
4–5× more likely to fail at least one school subject — adolescents reporting chronically short sleep, in a study of ~20,000 students. Nearly 3 in 4 US high schoolers don’t get the sleep they need on school nights (CDC). Titova et al., 2015, Sleep Medicine; CDC MMWR 2018

Every figure above is cited to its primary source. Dig deeper in Eyesafe’s research library at eyesafe.com/research.

Named an at-risk group

France’s national health agency ANSES identifies children as a sensitive population — the lens continues developing to roughly age 20 and filters less blue light — and recommends limiting children’s exposure to blue-rich screens before bedtime. The EU’s SCHEER committee concurs. See the research →

School screens go home

District devices travel home and into the evening, where the sleep research applies most. Protection built into the device or its screen protector works everywhere the device goes — with nothing for the child to remember to do.

Closer means stronger

Children hold screens closer — and halving the distance quadruples the light intensity reaching the eye (the inverse-square law). Shorter arms mean stronger doses from the same screen. Eyesafe Handbook, Ch. 8.

The fix is already on the shelf

A measurable screen health standard is published, free to require, and already met by shipping devices and screen protection from major manufacturers. Districts just need to ask for it — and most don’t know they can.

The letter

Three steps. Your words to send.

1 Find your school district

Private school, or don’t see yours? Skip this step — just type your school’s name in step 2. The letter works for any school.

2 Add your name

3 Send it

Open in your email

Nothing is sent through this site and nothing you type here is stored — the letter goes from your own email, in your own name.

Who to send it to

01Your district’s website — choose your district above and we’ll link its official site. Look for “Contact,” “Administration,” or “Superintendent’s Office.”
03Or the route that always works: send it to your school’s front office or principal — the address on any school newsletter. The letter’s first line asks them to forward it to the right person, and school inboxes are very good at that.

What you’re asking for

A requirement, not a favor.

The letter asks your school to require measurable screen health performance — the Eyesafe® screen health standard — the next time it buys student devices or screen protection. The exact specification language is published free at eyesafe.com/specify, written for school procurement, vendor-neutral, and already met by shipping products from manufacturers districts buy from today.

It costs the district nothing to require. Evaluating it is free, the language is free, and no single supplier is locked in — any product that meets the measured bar qualifies. That’s what makes this an easy yes for an administrator.

Common questions

Before you hit send.

Is this a medical claim about my child’s health?

No. The letter asks for a measured performance requirement on light emitted by screens — the same way schools already specify screen size or battery life. The reasons to care come from published, independent research, and the letter links to it rather than overstating it.

Will this cost my school money?

Requiring the standard is free, and conforming devices and screen protectors are ordinary products districts already buy — several major manufacturers ship them today. The letter asks the district to add a line to its next purchase, not to buy anything new.

My kids are at a private school — does this still work?

Yes. Skip the district lookup and type your school’s name in step 2. Private schools buy devices the same way, and the head of school or technology coordinator is the right reader.

What happens after I send it?

The letter asks for a reply, and it points the school to eyesafe.com/specify, where the specification language, grade tables and a supplier response form are free to download. If your district wants help adapting the language, Eyesafe assists at no cost.

One parent asking is how this starts.

Share this page with the parents at your school — a second letter in the same inbox is what turns a note into an agenda item. eyesafe.com/ask

Scroll to Top