Stockholm

Is Sweden raising a generation of brats?

The country has built a child-friendly reputation on its mandates for long parental leave and provision for state-funded day care from age 1. But a new book paints an ugly underbelly to Scandinavia's child-centric ways. Youngsters here—deemed "competent individuals" by the state and legally protected from spanking—are becoming the chief decision makers in homes at very young ages in what some Swedes think is an alarming trend.

At the center of the discussion is David Eberhard, a Swedish psychiatrist and father of six who published a book titled "How Children Took Power" last year that sparked fierce debate.

Dr. Eberhard says Sweden's child-centric model has "gone too far" and his book suggests the over-sensitivity to children and a reluctance to discipline has bred a nation of ouppfostrade, which loosely translates to "badly raised children." "All this kowtowing to the kids actually causes kids and society more harm than good," Dr. Eberhard said in an interview. He suggests the trend could contribute to higher anxiety levels or depression at a later stage in life for these children.