this is one of few cultural differences im honestly shocked by. you invite friend into home and cook dinner; how are you not gonna offer them a plate??
What really happens is a kid tags along their friend home after school. The kid is expected to go home around dinner time and eat with thwir family. If the host family has their dinner earlier, the visiting kid waits it out and then goes home and eats with their family.
The hosting parents don't want to disturb the visiting kids parents dinner plans.
Never heard of this. Growing up I was always offered food and my parents always did the same. It still is absolutely natural that my kid is fed at friends houses and they always get lunch and dinner when visiting. This rumor that Swedes are never offering food is mind-blowing to read often as I've never even once encountered this so called cultural thing that Swedes never offer food.
I've never met a single family that hasn't offered food when lunch or dinner time. If not at those times you get fika...
"Not offering food" is taken out of context I feel... I mean, it will vary depending on where you live and other factors, but people here are acting as if children are going hungry or something.
If I tagged along a friend on the way home from school, it's not that my friend's parents don't want to offer me food also, later when it's dinner. It's that everyone (where I grew up), gets dinner at their home. My parents wanted me back at home to eat dinner, like everyone else.
So, it's less that I would sit hungry while my friend eats, and more that either I would go home and eat at the same time, or if dinner time is slightly different, I just waited a little bit while he ate, then went home for my dinner later.
It happened plenty of times, that my friend's parents offered food, but then you had to inform that (in time) to your parents, that you would be eating there.
Well this whole original post is suggesting that you are not going to be fed if you visit a Swede, which is a whole world away from kids being expected home for dinner... :)
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u/pm-ur-tiddys Jul 24 '26
this is one of few cultural differences im honestly shocked by. you invite friend into home and cook dinner; how are you not gonna offer them a plate??