Resources and Links

Read books in Swedish! For those who find it difficult to access Swedish books abroad, e-books and audiobooks can be a good alternative. Some Swedish libraries allow you to apply via email for a library card that grants you access to their e-books and audiobooks. Explore the library's Bibblix app!

You can also find audiobooks on UR Play, Barnradion, and Spotify (in some countries, you may need to get a Swedish IP address via a VPN service to register).
If you wish, you can try digital subscription services such as Ztory, Nextory, Storytel, Bokus Play, or Bookbeat. The Polyglutt app combines images and sound, allowing children to listen and read along to books.

Books recommended by SMUL parents:
Astrid Lindgren's books, Alfons Åberg, Mamma Mu, Bamse, Pettson and Findus, the Moomin books, Pelle Svanslös, Viggos ord, Prostens barnbarn, Super-Charlie, Sagasagor, Vitnos, LasseMaja, Nelly Rapp, Håkan Bråkan, Doctor Proctor, Den magiska djuraffären, Jakten på Jack, Kapten Kalsong, The Famous Five books, the Pax series.

When your child starts learning to read, don't miss the popular easy-to-read series about Axel and Omar and Klass 1b by Helena Bross, as well as Livat på Lingonvägen by Janina Kastevik.

Let the children watch Swedish children's programs on Barnkanalen on SVT! A prerequisite for watching all programs abroad is to get a Swedish IP address with a VPN service – it's both easy and inexpensive.

On UR Play, there are plenty of educational programs to listen to and watch. One of the most popular is Livet i Bokstavslandet, for children who want to learn about letters.

If you want a large selection of children's movies, you can get SF Kids, Disney+, or Netflix, where you have the option to choose Swedish as the spoken language.

Parents recommend the following children's programs (most for younger children):
Spöket Laban, Lilla Anna och långa farbrorn, Pippi, Pettson och Findus, Bamse, Greta Gris, Lilla röda traktorn, Babblarna, Daniel Tiger, Bing, Totte och Emma, Dora, Bolibompa, Nicke Nyfiken, Byggare Bob, Pokoyo, Drömmarnas trädgård, Barbapappa, Fem myror är fler än fyra elefanter, Dunderklumpen, Resan till Melonia. Some of these can be found on YouTube.

In the enormous selection of game apps, it can be difficult to find the right one, but help is available! On PappasAppar, you can read many reviews that make it easier to find fun and educational apps for your child. On Skolappar, apps are reviewed by teachers.

Elevspel contains various educational games for school.

Apps recommended by parents:
Bamse, ABC-klubben, Tripp Trapp Träd, Mamma Mu, Pettson & Findus, Bolibompa, ABC-raketen, Alfons Åberg, Pippi, LasseMaja, Kalle Kunskap, Duolingo, DinoLingo, Radioapan, Radioapans kojträd, Ordkronan, Trilo stavar, Happi Pappi, Poio, Skrivguiden, Skolstil, LetterSchool, Hitta Ord, Memrise, Luvlingua.

A great way to subtly incorporate more Swedish into everyday life is through music. On Spotify and YouTube, you can find Swedish children's songs. Barnradion and Bolibompa also have music on their apps.

Children's music recommended by parents on Spotify and YouTube: Barnplaneten, Kompisbandet, Barnkammarboken, Hopphatten, Babyloonz, Mora Träsk, Mamma Mu-visor för hela kroppen.

The silver children's songbook with accompanying CD is a beloved songbook.

Swedish Radio has children's programs. Check out the overview on Barnradion online. Here you'll find lots of different content for children – stories, music, games, crafts, etc.

The comic magazines Bamse and Bamse för de yngsta are recommended by SMUL parents. You can subscribe to Bamse abroad, but you can also choose to read the magazine digitally, for example, in the Readly app.

Kamratposten is a popular magazine that targets a slightly older audience than Bamse.

Even though many children might prefer digital games, we must not forget about playing board games. Have fun together while your child learns a lot by, for example, playing Små kloka barn på bokstavsjakt, Barnens alfapet, Barn Alias, or Fem myror är fler än fyra elefanter.

On Lektion.se and Lektionsbanken, you can find a lot of material that you can use to teach your child Swedish. The sites are full of valuable lesson tips from teachers that you can access for free.

Below you will find more interesting links relevant to multilingualism.

Bilingual Monkeys - an excellent blog by Adam Beck in Japan about multilingualism.

Grunderna i svenska språket - A blog aimed at parents who want to help their children with the basics of the Swedish language.

Language for life – Monica Bravo Granström's professional blog about multilingualism.

Multilingualparenting.com – a personal blog about multilingualism by the Finnish-Swedish translator Rita Rosenback.

Sofia Distans – Swedish language education for grades 6-9 online.

Svenska Distans – Swedish language education for grades 1-6 online.

Språkens Hus at Malmö University Hospital targets multilingual children with language disorders and is aimed at parents, child health centers, speech therapy clinics, as well as monolingual and multilingual staff in preschools and schools throughout the country.

Svenskar i världen - Swedes Worldwide is a non-profit and politically independent organization that, through advocacy, information, advice, and support, makes life easier for the nearly 700,000 Swedes who study, work, or for other reasons live abroad, as well as for those returning to Sweden.

Svensk Utlandsundervisnings Förening (SUF) – an interest organization for parent associations or other principals, which organizes state-subsidized Swedish education abroad for nearly 6,000 students.

SWEA International – a non-profit organization for Swedish-speaking women abroad.