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Back to school means parents must now ween their kids off their summer screen time schedule and back into school-year habits.

Every parent faces the dilemma of how to keep the kids off the laptop, tablet or phone. 

Pediatric optometrist Dr. Marcela Frazier knows this struggle all too well. As a mom of two teens– she is in a constant battle at her home over how much screen time is too much.  "We're ruining the kids' eyes and possibly brains and bodies by allowing this to happen, but we need help with alternatives,� she said. 

 The American Academy of Pediatrics just released new guidelines for screen time. "The recommendation now is NO electronics below the age of two, so a baby should not be on any kind of electronics,� said Dr. Frazier. 

For kids ages two through ten, the recommendation is one hour of screen time a day. For those older the max is two hours a day. 

Dr. Frazier said it is important to stick to those guidelines because she noticed an alarming rate of kids now diagnosed with near-sightedness – where they have a hard time seeing at a distance– and dry eyes.

"It used to be 30% of the population had that, now we're seeing about 50% and it's going to get about 90% of the population. That's not genetic. That is all environmental. They are on the electronics for so long and their blink rate gets so low,� she added.

If your child blinks excessively, squints often, has watery or red eyes– those may be signs of prolonged exposure to screens.

Dr. Frazier encourages you to promote physical and outdoor play–  or do something creative to keep their mind engaged because their eye health depends on it. 

You can check your kids screen time by going to your phone or tablet's settings, click on "Digital Wellbeing" if you have an android, or click on settings and "Screen time" if you have an Apple device.