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Safety eyewear joins slip, slop, slap

Protective glasses when outside or playing sport could become as routine for children as the "no hat, no play" policy in schools, researchers say.

There is growing evidence of the risks of sun damage and sports- related injuries to children's eyes.

It is the flip side to their eyes potentially not developing properly if they spend too much time inside watching television or computer screens, the researchers say.

The $3 million Joyce Henderson Fellowship, a trust set up by a relative of leading WA paediatric ophthalmologist Mary Bremner, is being used for childhood eye injury research at Princess Margaret Hospital and the Lions Eye Institute.

Institute research fellow Annette Hoskin said the need for children to wear sunglasses and other protective eyewear was a key issue being investigated.

"The premise is that it's all great to be outside and encouraging people to be less interactive with small screens and doing more sport, but so long as you do it in a safe way," she said. "It's about working out how much time to spend outside and the optimum time of the day."

Ms Hoskin said there was evidence children's eye injuries from racquet sports were increasing but any sport that involved balls, sticks or bats and collisions had risks.

She said there was likely to be growing pressure to insist children wear eye protection.

The research included a trauma audit to track eye injuries from magpie attacks and an analysis of UV eye damage in children who played sports with a high risk of sun exposure, such as surfing, lifesaving, sailing and cricket.