Swedish children spoiled by spanking law, psychiatrist David Eberhard says

Sweden had a head start in the good parenting debate as the first country to outlaw spanking but some argue that its child-centred approach has gone too far and children now rule the roost.

"In some ways Swedish kids are really ill-mannered," said David Eberhard, a psychiatrist and father of six. "They shout if there are adults speaking at the dinner table, they interrupt you all the time and they demand the same space as adults."

Eberhard recently published a book entitled How Children Took Power, which argues that over the years Swedes have effectively extended their 1979 smacking ban - now adopted in more than 30 countries - to a ban on correcting children in any way.

"Of course you should listen to your children but in Sweden it's gone too far. They tend to decide everything in families: when to go to bed, what to eat, where to go on vacation, even what to watch on television," he said, adding that young Swedes are ill-equipped for adulthood.

"Their expectations are too high and life is too hard for them. We see it with anxiety disorders and self harming, which has risen dramatically," he said.

That view is contested by several experts including family therapist Martin Forster, who says that, on the whole, Swedish youth still top international rankings of well-being. "Sweden was very much inspired by ideas that children should be more in the centre and they should be listened to," he said. "That children decide too much - that's a matter of values. Different approaches to parenting and children produce different cultures."