No smartphone before 13? How your child can still stay in touch

Folkhälsomyndigheten (the Public Health Agency of Sweden) recommends that children wait until the year they turn 13 before getting their own smartphone. The recommendation is based, among other things, on the risks of harmful content, inappropriate contacts, sleep problems and use that can become hard to control. Read Folkhälsomyndigheten's recommendation.

But the recommendation doesn't mean children should be cut off from the world around them.

Many children want to be able to ring a friend, a grandparent or their parents without always having to go through an adult's phone. So the question becomes:

How can children gain more independence without needing a smartphone?

A simple phone can be an alternative

Folkhälsomyndigheten points out that a simple phone without internet access can suit children under 13 who need to be able to call or send messages. The agency also recommends that parents talk to each other, so that children don't risk being left out when different families have different rules.

There is an important difference between having contact and having access to a smartphone.

A smartphone is at once a camera, a web browser, a games console, social media and a constant stream of notifications. For many families the goal isn't to ban all technology, but to wait with that particular kind of personal device.

That's why we built Barnluren

Barnluren is our idea of a simpler route to staying in touch.

It's a physical phone without a screen that lives at home. The child picks up the handset and calls approved contacts. The parent decides which people can call in and be called. Family and friends use the Barnluren app on their mobile to talk to the child.

So the child gets:

• a phone of their own to answer
• the ability to call family and approved friends
• no social media, browser or apps in their hand
• no public contact with strangers
• one clear and simple task: to talk to someone

Barnluren isn't meant to replace every phone, or to be a mobile solution for children out on their own. It's built first and foremost for the home, where a child can have more social freedom without having to carry a smartphone around.

Our goal

We believe children need to practise independence step by step. Ringing a friend, asking whether someone wants to play, or chatting with a grandparent may seem simple, but these are important social experiences too.

That's why we want to build technology that helps children stay in touch – without handing them the whole internet at the same time.

Folkhälsomyndigheten has not recommended Barnluren specifically. This article is our interpretation of the need the agency's recommendation brings to light, and one example of how families might think about staying in touch without a smartphone.

How have you handled it in your family? Does your child need to be able to make calls without having a smartphone? We'd love to hear which solutions you use and which challenges you run into.