Swedish doctors: children under two years old should not be given gadgets with screens

According to Folkhälsomyndigheten's recommendations, screen use by children aged two to five years should be limited to a maximum of one hour, while children aged six to 12 years should not use screens for more than two hours. For children aged 13 to 18 years, this limit should be three hours.

Meanwhile, the current average screen time among Swedish children and youth is four hours a day for children aged 9 to 12 years and more than seven hours a day — excluding school activities — for teenagers aged 17 and 18 years.

"We know that the use of digital media can have negative health consequences, including impaired sleep and symptoms of depression," notes Social Affairs Minister Jakob Forsmed.

The Swedish Health Agency also recommended not allowing children to use devices with screens before bedtime.

Public health official Helena Frilingsdorf says that parents should set an example for children when it comes to screen use.

Previous research has shown that attempts to distract children from tantrums with a tablet or phone screen lead to gadget addiction but do not help with the problem of emotion control.

A three-month study conducted in France in 2024 showed that children under the age of three should not be exposed to screens, including television, and no child should have a phone before the age of 11. The British telecom operator EE also advised parents not to give children smartphones until the age of 11.

Schools in France are trying to ban the use of mobile phones in schools for students under the age of 15 as part of a "digital break".

The Swedish government, meanwhile, has stated that it is considering banning smartphones in primary schools.

Meanwhile, in the US, there is a growing popularity of regular button phones. Experts believe that this is due to the desire of zoomers to reduce the time spent in front of smartphone screens.