Sweden’s public health agency has issued new guidelines urging parents to put away their phones when spending time with children, citing research that shows the negative impact of adult screen use on kids.
The agency recommends creating “screen-free zones” in the home, such as the bedroom and dining table, and advises parents to “protect and respect your child online. Think before posting pictures or videos.”
The new guidelines follow a government-commissioned investigation into the connection between children’s health and parental screen time. The study found that parents’ screen use can negatively affect interactions with their children and that children of heavy users develop similar habits.
Sweden’s Minister of Social Affairs, Jakob Forssmed, said, “I don’t think people realise that [their screen use] affects children to the extent that we now know that it does.”
Helena Frielingsdorf, a psychiatrist and researcher at the agency, added that children are affected “not only by what adults say, but also by what adults do.”
Sweden previously published screen time limits for children: none for under two, one hour per day for two- to five-year-olds, two hours for six to 12, and three hours for 13 to 18. The guidelines also ban digital devices before bedtime and require phones to be left outside the bedroom at night.
The Scandinavian country is also implementing a national school smartphone ban in its Education Act, prohibiting phones in schools for children up to grade nine (age 15-16) starting in the 2026-27 autumn term.