Jenny L Beijar & Marco Guadarrama – What made you feel safe at home?

Think about your childhood – what made you feel safe at home?

For many of us, our childhoods were unplugged. Now, times have changed. We’re wired into tech at every turn. Parents have turned into safety officers—some offering trust and guidance, others building walls of protection. But for kids, the question is "What’s lurking in the dark?"

IKEA, in collaboration with Our Normal Association, dives deep into this dynamic, exploring life from the perspective of kids. For adults, a digital security system is a shield, a sense of control. But for a child, it’s a looming threat, “Will this thing eat my toys?” Today’s smart technology prioritizes adult fears and comforts, leaving kids out in the cold.

The future of design is inclusion. It’s the union of mental peace and physical safety. It’s about the creation of spaces where everyone feels secure. Technology must evolve to serve every member of the family, not just the grown-ups. The role of the designer is to find the edge cases. When we design for empathy, we shape a future where everyone belongs.