Wat-Not Staff
In response to the growing worry over children’s excessive screen time, Sweden is now requesting that parents forbid screen use for children younger than two years old. Toddlers should not be exposed to television or digital media at all, according to the nation’s Public Health Agency, as screen time is bad for their physical and emotional well-being. The Swedish government aims to regulate screen time for other age groups as well, with the goal of clearly defining boundaries on screen usage for kids and teenagers. This means that these recommendations to reduce screen time are not just for toddlers.
New guidelines by Sweden
According to recent instructions from Sweden’s Public Health Agency, parents should limit their child’s screen time to no more than one hour per day if they are between the ages of two and five. Screen usage should be limited to one or two hours each day for children between the ages of six and twelve. According to Fortune magazine, teens between the ages of thirteen and eighteen shouldn’t use screens for more than two or three hours per day.
The Swedish government claims that the new regulations are consistent with initiatives aimed at lowering youth screen time. The recommendations call for habit changes in addition to screen time limitations. In order to encourage improved sleep hygiene, the health organization also advises parents to limit screen time before bed and to keep phones and tablets out of their kids’ bedrooms at night.
The raised concerns over increased screen time from the youngsters
Swedish Public Health Minister Jakob Forssmed remarked, “For too long, cellphones and other screens have been allowed to enter every aspect of our children’s lives.” Forssmed also brought attention to these alarming statistics: Outside of school hours, Swedish youths between the ages of 13 and 16 spend an average of 6.5 hours a day in front of screens. Forssmed claims that this quantity of screen time leaves little time for important pursuits like spending quality time with family, exercising, and getting enough sleep.
Concerns over a developing “sleep crisis” among teenagers have also been voiced by Sweden’s health officials, as over half of 15-year-olds are apparently not getting enough sleep. According to the agency’s assessment, too much screen time can cause a number of health problems, such as melancholy, insomnia, and body dissatisfaction. These results are in line with international studies that show negative health consequences in youth who use screens excessively.
Remarkably, worries about children spending more time on screens have been voiced previously. Teens are said to spend even more time on screens in the United States, where they use them for over eight hours a day on average when they’re not in school. Because screens are so commonplace in daily life, many parents find it challenging to control their kids’ screen usage, frequently using screens as easy babysitters.
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