Cultivating the ability to read and a love for reading is an integral part of every child’s developmental process. As parents, we all want our children to have good eyesight so that their learning development will not be impaired.  However, with the popularity of hand-held devices for both recreational and educational usages, it is no wonder that Singapore’s myopia rate among children between the ages of 7 to 9 is the HIGHEST in the world! The same research also found the worrying trend that this rate worsens when a child progresses from primary school to tertiary education!

We have been in search of a good table lamp for Dana since last year when she began her K1 education which require her to do more desktop writing.  Recently, we were invited by the good people at 3M to attend an eye care talk and to get acquainted with their latest LED desktop lamp, the 3M LED6000. Dr. Lee Sao Bing, Medical Director and Principal Surgeon of Shinagawa LASIK & Eye Centre, Singapore shared with us these 7 Practical Eye Care Habits, which apply to both adults and children: 

1. Spend less time on unnecessary near work, including the use of hand-held devices – these activities require you to focus on small details or are done very close to your eyes.

We reviewed the 3M’s latest LED desk lamp – the 3M LED6000, which boasts few revolutionary features.

At first glance, we were impressed with 3M LED6000’s chic and minimalist design with is free from any protruding knobs or buttons. It comes with just 2 black, matte-finished turn-screws to control the level and angle of the lamp.  Personally, I think that having this lamp at home ups the ‘cool-quotient’ of desktop reading by a few notches!

The firm yet smooth levers and joints finished with a matte-brushed surface adds to the overall quality feel of the lamp.

The matte-brushed levers against the smooth surface complete with a pearl-white sheen adds to the elegance of the lamp.

When turned on, the 3M LED6000’s lamp console surface emits a soft white glow identifying the lamp’s main switch.  Lightly tap any of the 5 dimmer levels and the overhead LED lamp will be turned on and tuned to the right intensity to provide the adequate lighting for your desired ambient light level.

Touch of class: Turn on the main power and you see the dimly lit control panel appear.  No protruding knobs or buttons.

The light chamber is significantly smaller than conventional desk lamps and thanks to 3M’s Air Guide Technology; the light chamber emits a more evenly distributed light.  Coupled with LED light source, the 3M LED6000 promises a more pleasant and comfortable reading experience that is also energy saving and cost efficient.

The 3M ‘Air Guide’ technology allows a small light chamber to deliver an energy saving and evenly distributed light.

We used several of Dana’s picture books to test the level of glare. Children pictorial books tend to have a slight gloss or sheen to make the pictures appear brighter and more attractive. Although cutting glare out completely would be stuff of science fiction novels, we are happy that the 3M LED6000 did reduce glare significantly.  Impressive!

3M’s LED6000 LED Desk lamp with Air Guide technology reduces glare significantly.

Best of all,  the 3M LED6000 folds flat for fuss-free, easy storage which I believe is a much-welcomed feature in all our households.

The 3M LED6000 folds in neat and flat for storage.

Overall, the 3M LED6000 impresses with its design and effectiveness.  The cost of having bad eyesight: inconvenience of wearing spectacles, lifelong recurring costs of contact lenses and risks of eye diseases, far outweigh the cost of investing in a good, state-of-the-art desk lamp.  With the 3M LED6000 lamp, coupled with good eye care habits, we could all help our family retain the good use of our natural eyesight and reverse Singapore’s reputation of being the myopia-central of the world!