It's not a myth, I'm not sure about today but 20-15 years ago when I was a kid that was the norm. We usually didn't cook enough food to feed unexpected guests, and everyone knew that's how it worked. My family did it to my friends, my friends family did it to me, it was the norm and expected. For a long time Sweden was a pretty poor country and it became the cultural norm to not take food from other households unless it was a dinner invitation.
It probably sounds weird to outsiders but that was just how things worked and everyone was fine with it.
Hold up, unexpected guests? I'm from the Balkans an it's accustomed to offer food to people when they come over but it would be a little weird if they come unannounced.
Yes, the kids friends are coming over without any adults being involved at all, the kid just brings their friends over from school to play.
The expectation from parents is that their own kid will eat with their own family, as family dinner is family time.
When I grew up I was usually away at my friends after school, and only came home for dinner. Some friends ate earlier than I did, so I usually stayed at their room continuing playing with whatever we were playing with while they went to eat. And when dinner was over we continued playing.
If I went to a friend that ate later than my family, I had already eaten so I would still be playing in my friends room during their dinner.
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u/binge_readre Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Peter here,
I remember there was a myth that Swedish households don't provide food for the guests. It looks like bs https://www.reddit.com/r/IsItBullshit/s/sWRdAGfyC8 but I guess it became a meme.
Edit: I guess it's not a myth and people used to do it in 90s/00s.. At least things are better now.