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At the age 10, I was already wearing spectacles with a prescription of around 200 degrees but the wifey trumped me by having a degree greater than 800. 😅 Yes, unfortunately myopia runs deep in our family... which doesn't bode well for the monkies at all.
Myopia, or short-sightedness, occurs when the eyeball is too long, causing light to fall in front of the retina rather than on it. This causes distant objects to appear blurred. And according to the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC), about 80% of 18-year-olds here grapple with the condition, making Singapore having one of the highest myopia rates in the world! 😱
But the good news is the extent of myopia can be managed more effectively with good eye habits and greater attention paid to eye health. And it all starts from young... with a little help from Plano.
Founded in 2017 and with the support by Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore Eye Research Institute and National Health Innovation Centre, Plano launched the world’s first science-based parental control application, planoApp, with a vision to “Keep all eyes healthy in our digitised world”.
All well and good but to be honest, when I first told Ale that I was going to install this "parental control" app on her iPad, let's just say she wasn't exactly that enthusiastic about it. Because which child in his or her right mind would want to be controlled when navigating on their digital devices, no? 😆
But after a few days with planoApp, I think her attitude towards it has totally changed - especially since Plano had gamified the entire 'healthy eye habits' experience for kids and made it so engaging for them to WANT to keep their eyes healthy.
HOW SO???
BENEFITS OF planoApp
FOR KIDS
Safe face-to-screen distance detection
This is my fave feature of the app. How often do we parents find ourselves nagging at our kids, "Don't put the screen so close to your face!" Guilty as charged.
With planoApp, I can now delegate that 'nagging' to the app as it will remind my kids to hold their devices at a safe distance. (Yes, the app runs in the background once it is installed)
So should planoApp detect that the child's eyes are too close to the screen, it will prompt a reminder to the child and ensure that the safe distance is adhered to.
Poor posture detection
How many times have you caught your child lying down on the back or belly while using a device? Erm, actually I think parents are culpable of that too. 😆
Having a good posture during screen time is also part of developing healthy eye habits. So in addition to safe face-to-screen distance detection, planoApp also reminds the child to maintain a healthy posture while using their devices. No more nagging from me then!
Eye break reminder
Ooh, another feature which allows me to outsurce my nagging to. LOL.
When the device is used continuously for more than 30 minutes, planoApp will prompt a 2-minute ‘forced break’ for Android devices. That means kids will have to turn off their devices and not use them for the next 2 miunutes. For iOS devices, there is no 'forced break' but a push notification which reminds the child to take an eye break.
Low light detection
I don't know about you but my kids somehow love to use their devices in the dark or with the curtains drawn during daytime. And I don't have to tell you how the lack of appropriate lighting during screen time harms one's eyes.
With planoApp, it will alert the child when the usage of the device is detected in a dark or dim environment.
Spectacles reminder
For kids who wear spectacles, planoApp will be able to detect when they forget to wear their spectacles and prompt an alert.
Points reward system
Now this is the FEATURE that got Ale onboard with planoApp - the ability to earn points and redeem gifts as she develops good device use habits!
Remember I mentioned how planoApp has gamified the entire 'healthy eye habits' experience for kids earlier?
Kids will be able to earn 'gold' through a points-based reward system for good device use and remembering to keep to healthy eye habits.
For example, the child will be able to earn 200 gold for completing an eye break after 30 minutes of continuous use of the device. Also, the child will also stand to earn more gold if the daily overall screen time usage is less than daily default time usage of 2 hours.
All the coins earned will contribute to the child's 'treasure loot' which can be used to redeem for rewards from the planoShop, a one-of-a-kind in-app reward system you can find the best of fun-filled family activities, kids-friendly products and services.
All the child has to do is to browse for the reward he/she wishes to redeem with the gold earned on the app, and send a request to the parent. The parent will then receive the notification and can decide whether to allow for the redemption to go through.
Look at all the stuff that Ale had requested in return for protecting her eyes. 😅
Do note that the redemption still requires a small cash outlay on top of the points redeemed, but it is heavily discounted. Like for the reward of a $50 Toys 'R' Us voucher that Ale requested? I just have to pay $20 in addition to the 800 points redeemed. Not too bad a deal, if you ask me!
There are also plenty of other merchants that kids can use their gold for and a bulk of them involve play and activities that both parents and kids can enjoy together. Like this Terrarium Workshop - perfect activity for staying at home this school holidays!
But with rewards, there must also be risks involved as well. Kids can also lose crates (worth 100 gold each) if the face-to-screen alert is triggered every time (maximum number of crates that can be lost per day is 3) for Android devices or if the device is not calibrated at the start of each session for iOS devices.
As a whole, the rewards system is employed to encourage positive behavior and device free activity among kids.
FOR PARENTS
Monitor kid's eye habits
Through the planoApp on my phone, I can monitor Ale's eye habits through three ares: daily screen time, risk factors and weekly summaries.
With just a simple tap, I can obtain real-time updates on her current screen time usage, how many eye breaks she had taken as well as the number of face-to-screen distance and posture alerts that have occurred.
Schedule no-device use time
There may be instances where I do not want my kids to be using their devices, like during school, study, mealtimes and close to bedtime. With planoApp, I can set device-free timings conveniently with no fuss at all!
Child mode
Sometimes, you may need to pass your phone to your child to keep him or her occupied for that short while. And planoApp allows you to do so in a safe manner too - you can switch the app on your phone to Child mode before passing the phone over so that all of the child-centric features I mentioned will come into play, i.e. Safe face-to-screen distance detection, poor posture detection, eye break reminder and low light detection.
Remote device lock
(Available for premium subscriptions for Android devices)
Pretty much self-explanatory - you have the power to instantly lock your child’s devices at anytime from anywhere. 😁
App & browser blocking
(Available for premium subscriptions for Android devices)
This feature allows you to protect your child from accessing inappropriate apps and content on the internet.
Safe zone
(Available for premium subscriptions on Health plus & Health max)
Set safe zones for your child, track your child’s movements and receive alerts when they are outside the safe zones.
planoEyecheck
A key component in the fight against myopia is also the inclusion of regular eye checks. So even if your child has perfect eyesight, you should still bring him/her for an annual comprehensive eye exam.
Getting your child’s eyes checked regularly at an optometrist can help to identify any vision problems that your child may be experiencing early. If found, your optometrist can help administer treatment in order to prevent vision conditions like myopia from developing further.
Which is why Plano is so strong an advocate of regular eye checks that it is giving a $50 voucher to offset the cost to anyone who wants to go for an eye check! No questions asked.
All you have to do is to sign up via planoEyecheck (either via the planoApp or website) to schedule an appointment with an optometrist near you - all done within 1 minute! So no excuse NOT to do it for your child (or even yourself).
You can even add records of previous eye checks done in the app too.
planoKids
To further reinforce the importance of healthy eye habits among kids, parents can also leverage on the Plano Adventures book series which consist of books based on scientific research and were written to empower children with the tools needed to take charge of their own device use.
Each book is dedicated to one theme relevant to the dangers of devices, and helps kids better understand myopia screen time management, the benefits of outdoor activity and how to avoid cyber bullying and device dependency.
SIGN UP NOW FOR FREE TO RECEIVE FREE GOLD FOR YOUR KIDS!
Plano offers three types of plans: Health, Health Plus and Health Max.
The basic tier is FREE to sign up and gives you free usage of planoApp for three months. Should you find it to be effective and useful, you can then opt to sign up for the Health Plus tier at $2.98 per month or for Health Max at $29.98 per month.
Want another reason to sign up for free?
How about earning 2,500 gold instantly for your child???
2,500 gold can get your child a a lot of stuff actually... $50 Toys 'R' Us voucher (800 gold with a $20 payment) and a Design-It-Yourself Mini-Honey Kit ( 800 with a $5.50 payment), with still spare gold for other redemptions!
There are plenty of other 'device-free' activities that you can redeem using the gold from planoApp and as I have mentioned earlier, it is FREE for everyone to download and get started. PLUS your child gets 2,500 gold just like that - no strings attached!
So no need to wait already, click HERE to download planoApp!
GIVEAWAY!
Thanks to Plano, I will be giving away one book from the Plano Adventures book series to one lucky child. There will be a total of 2 winners.
In addtion, if you have downloaded the app and your child has made a request from planoShop, your child will also be in the running of getting the request for FREE, courtesy of Plano!
Plano will be sponsoring 3 child requests for those who participated in the giveaway across the entire campaign. Prize can apply to any (one) item of value capped at $100 before discount on planoShop.
To participate, all you have to do is the following:
1. Head over to my Facebook post HERE or Instagram post HERE.
2. In the respective comment sections, tell me why you think Plano will help you or your child in their eye care journey.
3. Follow either @planoapp (IG) or @plano.co (FB)
TWO WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING!
1. SHARE this blog post of the giveaway on Facebook for a BONUS chance! Remember to set your profile to public so that I can see the shared post.
2. REPOST my Instagram post on your IG Story. Remember to tag me (@cheekiemonkies) and Plano (@planoapp) so that your entry submission is logged.
Giveaway ends on 5 June 2021, 2359 hours.
GOOD LUCK! 😊
*Download the planoApp HERE.
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