Sweden is fighting digital addiction — in parents

Sweden’s Public Health Agency has issued new recommendations for parents: put away your phone when interacting with your child, make the bedroom and dining table screen-free zones, and stop posting photos of children on social media. Two years ago, the agency limited itself to advising parents to “reflect on their habits” — now the guidelines are far more specific and firm.

The recommendations came after the government received findings from recent studies showing that parental screen use harms the quality of parent-child interaction, and that children whose parents are constantly on their phones adopt the same habits and are more prone to screen addiction.

“People don’t realize how much their relationship with gadgets affects their children,” said Minister of Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed.

Sweden has been tightening its rules consistently for several years. Age-based screen time limits are already in place for children: no phones before age two, one hour a day from two to five, two hours from six to twelve, and no more than three hours for teenagers. Smartphones and tablets must stay out of the bedroom at night. From autumn 2026, phones will be banned in schools for students up to grade 9. Now it’s the parents’ turn.

What you can do right now

• Put away your phone during meals. The dining table is where the whole family gathers — it’s a time to talk and look at each other without the glow of blue screens.
• Set rules for the whole family, not just the children. They work better when they apply to everyone, not just the child.
• Don’t scroll through your feed while your child is showing or telling you something. Children notice when an adult is looking at a screen instead of talking to them, and they draw conclusions.
• Think before posting photos of your children. The Swedish agency specifically recommends protecting a child’s digital privacy before they are old enough to make decisions for themselves.