There are so many eyesight myths that we hear as kids: “Don’t sit too close to the television. You’ll go blind!”… “Turn on the light when you read. If you don’t, you’ll go blind!”… “Don’t cross your eyes, they’ll stay that way and you’ll go blind!” 

These classic bits of eye health wisdom still ring clearly in my ears.

Unfortunately, I sat way too close to the tube, I read in the dark more often than not, and my friends and I probably spent a collective week of our lives looking at each other through crossed eyes… and guess what? My eyes didn’t stay crossed and, believe it or not, I didn’t go blind! 

Fortunately, none of these timeless words of eye health advice shared for years by millions of mothers around the world have turned out to be true.

So where did these crazy eyesight myths—and the many others we’ve heard over the years—come from?  And more importantly: are any of them true, or are they all wise tales and myths?

Here are the 10 most common eyesight myths and my attempt to use facts and research to effectively debunk each.  I’ll start with the three mentioned above.