According to Sweden, toddlers should not watch television or other screens and screen time for older children should be limited.
According to the country’s Public Health Agency, children under the age of two should stay away from digital media and television altogether.
Children between the ages of two and five should spend a maximum of one hour a day in front of a screen, new recommendations state. Children between the ages of six and 12 should spend no more than an hour or two a day in front of a screen.
“For too long, smartphones and other screens have played an important role in the lives of our children,” said Health Minister Jakob Forssmed.
This comes after research showed that children who use their phones or watch television during meals are much more likely to be overweight.
Children under the age of two should be kept away from digital media and television altogether, says the Swedish Public Health Agency (stock image)
Jakob Forssmed, Minister of Social Affairs and Health, said: ‘For too long, smartphones and other screens have invaded every aspect of our children’s lives’
The agency also required that teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 be limited to two to three hours of school attendance per day.
The minister said that Swedish teenagers between the ages of 13 and 16 spend an average of six and a half hours a day in front of a screen, outside school hours.
Forssmed said that this left “not much time for joint activities, physical activity or sufficient sleep”, and lamented Sweden’s “sleep crisis”, with more than half of 15-year-olds not getting enough sleep.
The health service also advised that children avoid using screens before bed and that phones and tablets are kept out of the bedroom at night.
Reference was made to research showing that excessive screen use can lead to poor sleep, depression and body dissatisfaction.
The Swedish government has previously indicated that it is considering banning smartphones in primary schools.
A January study found that using an iPad for just one hour a day can hinder a toddler’s ability to understand the world around them.
Researchers at Drexel University in Philadelphia found that any amount of screen time from age 1 was associated with a twofold increased risk of unusual sensory behavior, such as not being able to respond to being called.
Each additional hour of screen time doubles the risk of later sensory behavioral problems compared to children who are not exposed to digital media.
