Sarah Michelle Gellar reveals that her eight-year-old son Rocky’s vision has been deteriorating

Sarah Michelle Gellar revealed Monday that her son Rocky has nearsightedness and his vision has been getting worse recently.

The 43-year-old Buffy The Vampire Slayer star revealed earlier this week in an interview with TODAY Parents that her son was having difficulty focusing on screens while trying to do his school work.

The actress was particularly concerned because Rocky’s vision problems were ‘progressing extremely rapidly.’

‘I really chalked it up to screen fatigue because my kids didn’t have a lot of access to devices [before the coronavirus quarantine],’ Sarah said.

‘All of a sudden they’re thrown into this world where they’re on Zoom for school and the only way they can connect with their friends afterwards is to continue on these devices. It was not something my kids were used to.’

The Cruel Intentions star began to notice Rocky would blink heavily and often while doing his school work in front of a screen, and eventually she had him examined by an eye doctor. 

‘They said not only did he have myopia — the common term is nearsightedness — but it was progressing extremely rapidly,’ she revealed.

After learning of Rocky’s worsening eyesight, Sarah partnered with the the eyewear company CooperVision that makes contact lenses for children.

She said her son was hesitant about wearing glasses for fear it might limit his sports prospects, but he was looking forward to trying out contact lenses.

While quarantining with her family, the Grudge actress also came to the realization that their weren’t many supports for her 2nd grade son’s left-handedness.

‘It makes you realize the world is not set up for left-handed people,’ she said. ‘I really feel for these kids.’

‘Kids go to school and they have professionals who are there to see that stuff and we count on that, but there is a difference when you know your own child inside and out,’ she continued. ‘You have to go with your gut as a parent. I think that’s the best advice I’ve ever learned. You know your kid.’

Being home and trying to teach her children herself has also enlightened Sarah about just how difficult it is to be a teacher.

‘California is full homeschool,’ she said. ‘It’s extremely difficult. Understanding a concept is extremely different than being able to teach a concept. I may comprehend it, but that doesn’t mean that I can explain it to my kids in a way that they follow.’

Although sitting in front of screens while learning can make it easy to stay sedentary, Sarah is doing her best to keep her kids active.

‘We’re pretty strict about screen time,’ she explained. ‘During the school day screens are only for school, so there’s no television, there’s no texting friends, there’s no nothing. As soon as school’s out, we try to do physical activity outside as a family whether it’s hiking or taking a walk or biking or swimming. We’ve also gotten really into board games.’

She’s instituted limits on their screen time, but Sarah’s not willing to completely do away with screens outside of school hours.

‘I don’t want to take it away from them because it’s one of the ways they communicate with their friends,’ she said. ‘At the end of the day, parents really do know their children. You really sort of have to go with that.’

In addition to Rocky, Sarah also shares her daughter Charlotte, 11, with her husband Freddie Prinze Jr., 44.

Last month, the Scooby-Doo costars celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary together.

‘You… are my favorite husband #happyanniversary,’ she captioned photos of the two lovebirds tying the knot in 2002.