GMAC’s Screen Staycation Campaign Challenges Kids to Go Play Outside
Every year, Euclid Vision’s partner – the Global Myopia Awareness Coalition – focuses on a campaign aimed at raising awareness of childhood myopia. This year Euclid’s CCO, Nitin Jain, strengthens the alliance with GMAC by playing a key role in promoting the Staycation Challenge, as well as helping bring GMAC’s new website to life.
The Global Myopia Awareness Coalition (GMAC) is a coalition of leading ophthalmic companies and eye health associations, with a mission to increase public awareness about the growing prevalence and consequences of myopia, especially in children.
Euclid Vision is proud to join other eye care leaders in supporting GMAC’s initiatives. GMAC develops awareness campaigns for the public and works with healthcare professionals and allied organizations to educate both parents and children to access early and regular eye exams and be more receptive to treatment recommendations from their eye care professionals.
Kids can benefit considerably from a daily tech time out. In fact, just 76-minutes a day spent outdoors away from screens can cut a child’s risk of myopia in half. * But even with such a substantial payoff, it’s hard to keep kids away from their devices. That’s why GMAC has launched the Screen Staycation campaign, an initiative designed to challenge parents and children to go 24 hours without using any screens at home.
Euclid Vision Corporation’s Chief Commercial Officer, Nitin Jain, is Co-Chairperson of the GMAC Marketing Committee, and was instrumental in bringing the Staycation Challenge to fruition, as well developing and launching GMAC’s new website, https://www.myopiaawareness.org/
“The summer is a time for vacation and having fun, but it can also be a time when kids spend most of their days indoors playing on devices and catching up on their summer reading list. The near work activities can contribute to the progression of myopia, and the GMAC Screen Staycation campaign encourages families to take a 24-hour tech time out and get outdoors. The campaign also reminds parents that summer break is a great time to schedule a comprehensive eye exam before the kids are back at school,” Jain said. “The Screen Staycation challenge resonates with parents who need a little help separating their kids from their screens. It’s a win-win. Instead of feeling penalized by loss of screen time, kids gain Staycation Kit goodies and extra family time. Parents gain something too – the tools they need to facilitate a conversation with their eyecare professional so they can develop a treatment plan that works best for everyone.”
High profile healthcare and education influencers, as well as celebrities such as actress, mother and ‘momfluencer,’ Haylie Duff, are generating interest in the Staycation Challenge on social media. In a recent Instagram post, Duff, who boasts 1 million followers, wrote, “Since I suffer from myopia (nearsightedness), it’s important for me to be proactive when it comes to my girls, especially because it can be genetic. I’m partnering with the Global Myopia Awareness Coalition (GMAC) and taking a “Screen Staycation” (a 24-hour tech timeout) with the family to give my girls a break from things that can also contribute to the progression of myopia. There are other new treatments beyond regular contacts and glasses that you can learn about on MyopiaAwareness.org.”