Image used for representational purpose only | Photo credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Sweden told parents on Monday (2 September 2024) that children should not be allowed to watch screens at all.
The country’s public health agency said children under two years of age should be completely kept away from digital media and television.
The new recommendations state that children aged two to five years should limit their screen time to a maximum of one hour a day, while children aged six to 12 years should not spend more than one or two hours in front of a screen.
The agency said teens between the ages of 13 and 18 should limit their sleep to two to three hours per day.
“For too long, smartphones and other screens have been allowed to enter every aspect of our children’s lives,” Public Health Minister Jakob Forsmedt told reporters.
The minister said Swedish teenagers aged 13 to 16 spend an average of six and a half hours a day in front of screens, outside of school time.
Mr Forsmed said this “does not leave a lot of time for community activities, physical activity or adequate sleep”, and lamented the Swedish “sleep crisis”, saying more than half of 15-year-olds do not get enough sleep.
The health agency also recommends that children don’t use screens before bedtime and that phones and tablets be kept out of the bedroom at night.
It cites research that suggests excessive screen use can lead to poor sleep, depression and body dissatisfaction.
The Swedish government previously said it was considering banning smartphones in primary schools.