Explore each chapter to understand the effort, benefits and context.
Chapter 20 covers the first year of life, and chapter 18 considers the money and time involved in raising a child. This chapter covers roughly ages 3–18. The screen-use entry starts at birth because the Chinese official guidance separates ages 0–3, 3–6, and school years; keeping those groups together is more useful. The question here is what cannot wait when schoolwork and health compete. Some treatments have a window of opportunity that examinations do not extend. This chapter gives those windows and figures without debating how academically competitive childhood should be.
The first eight and last two entries concern mortality or lasting physical harm. Entry 9, on supposed myopia cures, concerns money. Entry 10, on sleep, homework, exercise, and rankings, and entry 11, on leave from school, concern time. For drowning, transport, helmets, and HPV vaccination, see chapter 1; infants, chapter 20; scams and game spending, chapter 5; legal boundaries for minors, chapter 9; emergencies, chapter 13; and parental bereavement, chapter 29.
Some conditions are measured in hours. Sudden severe pain on one side of the scrotum can be testicular torsion, where twisting cuts off blood supply. In pooled cases, testicular survival was 97.2% when treated within six hours but 42.5% at 19–24 hours. Do not wait until the end of school or an examination.
A scoliosis brace is a rigid support used while a child's skeleton is still growing. In a randomized comparison, 75% of braced adolescents avoided progression to the study's surgical threshold, compared with 42% under observation. The treatment window follows skeletal growth, not the school examination calendar. Ask the specialist what a delay would mean for this child.
Meta-analysis linked peer victimization with about 2.2 times the odds of suicidal thoughts and 2.6 times the odds of suicide attempts. Chinese schools must investigate reports immediately, make a formal determination, and respond when bullying is established. Serious incidents involving public-security violations or suspected crimes must be reported rather than concealed. Keep written records.
Adding 40 minutes of outdoor school activity a day for first-graders reduced new myopia over three years from about 40% to about 30% in one randomized trial. Chinese health guidance recommends at least two daylight hours outdoors daily or 14 hours weekly. Cloudy days count, as does spending breaks outside.
China's cited guidance recommends no screen devices at ages 0–3, avoiding them as far as possible at ages 3–6, and no more than 15 minutes per session or one hour daily for schoolchildren's recreational use. Its rationale includes prolonged close viewing and early myopia. Research linking screens specifically to myopia is less conclusive than the outdoor-time trial in entry 4.
Myopia does not simply go away or reverse; it is more than needing glasses. Compared with no myopia, a review found about 14 times the odds of myopic macular degeneration with low myopia, 73 times with moderate myopia, and 845 times with high myopia. Retinal detachment odds were about three times as high with low myopia and 13 times as high at −6 diopters or stronger. These are study associations, not an individual forecast. Earlier onset and faster progression can mean greater future risk.
Schools organize a yearly health check. Pay attention to excess weight, obesity, undernutrition, abnormal spinal curvature, poor vision, and dental decay instead of looking only at height and weight. Follow the recommended specialist assessment promptly within the school year rather than filing the report away.
US preventive guidance recommends depression screening at ages 12–18; evidence is insufficient for routine screening at 11 or younger. A school mental health questionnaire is an initial check, not a diagnosis. If a child reports distress or shows major changes in eating, sleep, interests, or school performance, arrange clinical assessment rather than waiting for a school screening result.
China's market regulator states that current medical technology cannot cure myopia. Its enforcement notice targets misleading promises of recovery, reduced prescription, a myopia cure, or repaired vision. Do not let such language substitute for evidence. Platforms selling regulated eye-care devices must check the sellers' qualifications.
Chinese education guidance specifies ten hours of daily sleep for primary pupils, nine for junior secondary students, and eight for senior secondary students. Morning lessons should generally start no earlier than 8:20 a.m. in primary schools or 8:00 a.m. in secondary schools. The 2025 guidance calls for at least two hours of combined physical activity daily and prohibits ranking students by examination results. If sleep is chronically inadequate, examine the timetable before blaming the child for being slow.
China has a formal leave-of-study process. A guardian applies, the school confirms the request, and the supervising enrollment authority approves it. Each application lasts no more than one year; if more time is genuinely needed, another application can be made. The school must preserve enrollment during leave and process the return. Ask the school or local education bureau about provincial procedures.
Cycloplegic refraction uses drops to relax the eye's focusing muscle before measuring its prescription. Chinese health guidance identifies this clinical examination as the diagnostic gold standard for childhood myopia. A quick optical-store computer reading is not equivalent. Do not withhold appropriate glasses merely from fear that wearing them increases the prescription.
A resin sealant covers grooves on the chewing surface of a molar, helping keep food and bacteria out. Trials found substantially fewer cavities after two years, with benefits still apparent after four years. The exact absolute reduction depends on the child's baseline risk.