Are children wielding too much power in Sweden?

Sweden, like her Scandinavian counterparts, is often lauded for espousing children to think independently from an early age. The law, meanwhile, ensures that children’s rights are well protected.

However, David Eberhard, a prominent Swedish psychiatrist and author feels that the child-centric society in Sweden is giving children too much power in homes and schools, to a point where they grow up to be disrespectful and unruly young adults.

"They shout at their parents, they are rude and not behaving well in many ways. What is happening is children do not treat parents with respect."

While Swedish’s child centered society is not entirely to be blamed, he views that Swedish parents are in a situation whereby they are finding it difficult to draw the line in being a parent and a friend to their child.

Eberhard, who spoke to Astro AWANI from Stockholm, is in the view that Sweden’s laid-back approach in parenting and child-raising have ill-prepared young Swedes for adulthood.

Increasing numbers of young adults in Sweden are suffering from anxiety disorders, with as many as one in four 16 to 18-year-old suffering from mental health problems.

Mental ill-health accounts for 60% of all new disability claims and has become the leading cause of labour market exclusion among people of working-age in Sweden.

“A child growing up in such a child-centered society feels that nothing can harm them. Nobody tells off a child. Instead, they are told from a young age that they can accomplish anything and when he or she finds out that’s not the case, they get very disappointed. That is not the only reason to explain the increasing self-harming and anxiety disorder cases but it’s one explanation among many others.”