30/10/2025
The Importance and Development of Peripheral Vision in Children
Kobus van Rooyen
* Senior Optometrist* Dispensing Optician* Ethnomedical Practitioner
The Significance of Peripheral Vision in Holistic Visual Development
In modern society, children are often engaged in activities that primarily stimulate their central vision, while peripheral vision receives less attention. However, developing peripheral vision is a fundamental aspect of holistic visual growth. Holistic visual development integrates both central and peripheral vision, supporting overall visual health and enhancing children’s ability to function effectively in everyday life. Strong peripheral vision is vital for effective interaction with the environment and for responding appropriately to various situations.
Understanding Peripheral Vision
Fostering peripheral vision development from an early age lays the groundwork for improved cognitive and motor skills. Participating in outdoor games and team sports helps cultivate peripheral awareness, improving children’s ability to detect visual cues. These activities also develop hand-eye coordination and spatial understanding, which are crucial in environments such as classrooms and playgrounds, where quick reactions and awareness of surroundings support learning and participation.
The visual field encompasses everything a person can see, combining both central and peripheral vision. Central vision refers to what is directly in front of the eyes, while peripheral vision includes everything visible without moving the head. Loss of peripheral vision, known as tunnel vision, can significantly impair daily activities. Peripheral vision alerts central vision to changes and movement, playing an important role in tasks like reading and writing.
Moreover, peripheral vision allows children to process visual information from multiple directions at once. This ability is essential for tasks requiring divided attention and swift decision-making. Supporting peripheral vision development in both structured and unstructured settings helps children improve their multitasking skills and navigate complex visual environments more efficiently. For example, fluent reading without skipping lines relies on peripheral vision to indicate the presence of upcoming text, enabling central vision to process information instantaneously.
Beyond situational awareness, peripheral vision contributes to balance, coordination, and overall safety in daily routines. By nurturing both central and peripheral vision, children develop a more resilient visual system that enhances learning and supports physical activity.
Characteristics of Peripheral Vision
Peripheral vision refers to what is seen at the sides, above, and below the central focus area, without the need to move the head. It includes everything visible outside of direct focus, such as noticing objects “out of the corner of your eye,” often described as indirect vision.
While central vision is usually clearer—since the eyes naturally focus on what is directly ahead—a complete visual field requires both central and peripheral vision. This combination provides a comprehensive view of the environment.
The Value of Peripheral Vision
Good peripheral vision expands the field of view and helps detect colours and shapes beyond direct sight, even if these are not in sharp detail. The peripheral retina lacks colour receptors, perceiving the world mostly in black and white, which enhances the ability to detect movement and camouflage. Peripheral vision remains essential for many daily activities, including walking, reading, driving, and participating in sports such as tennis and cricket. Historically, peripheral vision has been referred to as “survivor vision,” as it enabled early humans to detect threats and predators, hiding camouflaged.
How Peripheral Vision Functions
Peripheral vision allows individuals to remain aware of their surroundings without shifting their gaze. For example, performers and athletes can focus straight ahead while still sensing movement on either side, though vision at the extreme periphery is limited.
Eye Anatomy and Vision
All regions of the eye contribute to central vision, but some play a more significant role. The retina, lining the inside of the eye, contains photoreceptor cells responsible for capturing light. The macula, located within the retina, houses the fovea (fovea centralis), which is responsible for the sharpest vision. The centre of the retina provides the clearest vision, while the peripheral retina at the edges supports peripheral vision.
Consequences of Peripheral Vision Loss
When peripheral vision is lost, only what is directly in front remains visible—an experience described as tunnel vision, like looking through a tube with blocked sides. The term “tunnel vision” can also refer to a narrow or overly focused viewpoint in a non-medical sense. When central vision is lost but peripheral vision remains, this is called a central scotoma, with “scotoma” meaning a blind spot.
Impact of Modern Electronics on Vision
The widespread use of electronics, including cell phones and LED lights, has raised concerns regarding their effects on visual health, particularly among children and adolescents. Prolonged screen time can lead to eye strain, reduced blinking, over stimulate the central vision, and less time spent focusing on distant objects, which may impact both central and peripheral vision. Blue light from screens contributes to digital eye fatigue and disrupts natural sleep cycles, especially when devices are used at night.
Parental Influence and Visual Development Challenges
Parents may often overlook the negative consequences these devices have on their children’s visual development. By overstimulating central vision—such as providing children with cell phones for games and activities—peripheral vision development is neglected. The modern “nanny” has become the cell phone, replacing the development of mother tongue and nurturing love. Experienced practitioners note that overstimulation of central vision is associated with Attention Deflect Syndrome (ADHD), potentially disrupting dopamine levels and the child’s biological clock. This can result in aggression, resistance to instructions, severe tantrums, increased dependence on electronic devices for distraction. Teenagers may wake up tired and reluctant to attend school, sometimes because they have been using their cell phones late into the night. Blue light exposure delays proper melatonin secretion, which is necessary for restful sleep and memory consolidation. Without sufficient melatonin, children may struggle to remember material learned the previous day, leading to frustration for both students and teachers. Despite these effects, many parents do not intervene or alter these potentially harmful habits.
Parents play a crucial role in shaping children’s visual habits, as their own behaviours regarding screen time and outdoor activities are often mirrored by their children. Encouraging regular breaks from digital devices and promoting time spent outdoors can help support healthy visual development and reduce the risk of eye strain and vision-related challenges in young people. Children become a mini YOU!!
To mitigate these risks, experts recommend implementing regular breaks from screen time and encouraging activities that involve distance viewing and outdoor play. Simple changes, such as setting device usage limits and promoting family routines that prioritise face-to-face interaction, can help preserve healthy visual development and support restful sleep. Early intervention and awareness are crucial to preventing long-term consequences associated with excessive digital device exposure in young people.
Summary
This document explores the anatomy of the eye, highlighting the importance of both central and peripheral vision, and discusses the consequences of their loss. It emphasises the impact of modern electronics—such as cell phones and LED lights—on visual health, especially in children and adolescents, including risks like eye strain, disrupted sleep, and hindered peripheral vision development. The text also underscores the essential role of parents in promoting healthy visual habits by limiting screen time and encouraging outdoor activities, aiming to prevent vision-related challenges and support overall wellbeing.
This section explores the importance of peripheral vision, emphasising its role in detecting movement and supporting everyday tasks such as walking, reading, and sports. It outlines how the retina and its regions contribute to both central and peripheral vision, describes conditions like tunnel vision and central scotoma, and addresses concerns about the influence of modern electronic devices on visual health, especially for children and adolescents.
