“We need to keep children away from screens”

– We know that if we remove mobile phones from primary schools, children will automatically become more physically active during breaks, and that this has an impact on sleep. Those who attend mobile-free schools sleep more at night. Such schools have built an understanding that you don’t need to have your phone all the time. It becomes easier to put it away, even outside school hours. The craving for it decreases the less it’s used, says Jakob Forssmed.

He argues that the government’s goal is for everyone—regardless of life situation—to feel hope for a good future. One measure to achieve this is the new leisure card (fritidskortet).

– The leisure card is a unique initiative where all parents or guardians receive a sum of money on a digital card that can be used within Sweden’s association life and municipal arts schools to pay participation fees.
It’s particularly important for those living in socioeconomic hardship. They currently participate less in activities, and will therefore receive four times as much money on their cards.

The card can be used broadly within sports clubs, outdoor organizations, and arts schools that have joined the program. The minister is confident that the leisure card will be utilized by those who need it most.

– Finances matter. There’s an interesting push effect with this card: if you don’t use the money, you lose it.

Better leisure time is not the whole solution

Early interventions can help identify children in vulnerable situations—whether due to social circumstances or neuropsychiatric diagnoses, Forssmed emphasizes.

– Home visit programs and parental support programs that build trust with parents are important and have strong evidence backing them.

Starting this year, the government will allocate an additional one billion SEK annually to child and adolescent psychiatry (BUP), with requirements to shorten waiting times and make the transition between BUP and adult psychiatry more flexible and seamless.

The National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) is responsible for implementing the initiative and for creating national development teams—so-called expert teams—composed of individuals with strong ties to research and proven practical experience.

– The expert teams will travel to clinics and regions that are struggling, helping them establish operations with the best possible accessibility and quality. It’s about providing concrete support based on evidence-based methods.

The government is also reviewing long-term measures for individuals with mental illness who are involved in, or at risk of becoming involved in, criminal activity.

– The Ministry of Justice’s Security Commission has identified psychiatric care and treatment within correctional institutions as an area that could be developed further. There are likely many people who need multiple interventions, but that’s an area where our development work hasn’t come as far. We need to think carefully about how to best address that.

The healthcare system alone cannot solve the problem of the increasing mental ill health among the population — a view that, according to Jakob, has dominated in Sweden for far too long.

– I think that’s completely the wrong perspective—we need to move away from that! Healthcare alone will not be able to handle this. Of course, we need good access to specialist psychiatry and primary care interventions for those who need them. But we also need to make sure that this becomes a genuine societal issue, where various agencies, organizations, and indeed everyone, take responsibility for promoting mental health in their work.