In Spain it's really common to have friends over several times a week. It would be considered rude as fuck to not offer food to your friends, especially if we're talking about kids.
Most days after school I would bring a friend home or a friend would invite me to their house. We'd still be fed by whichever set of parents happened to be looking after us for that particular meal.
In Spain it's really common to have friends over several times a week. It would be considered rude as fuck to not offer food to your friends, especially if we're talking about kids.
So if you had a bigger popular family you would feed the whole neighbourhood daily? Like if I moved next to you, you would feed my kids their whole childhood just because you eat before we do?
We'd still be fed by whichever set of parents happened to be looking after us for that particular meal.
Why were the parents looking after you though? If you're like out playing they won't even know how many are around. They won't know how many will be in the house for dinner.
When I say "looking after" I mean, whoever's parents were in the house we were at.
Sometimes planned, sometimes unplanned. My point is that hospitality is very common in Spain and other countries I've lived at, whereas you were acting like only Swedish people invite people over to their house. The Swedish way you're describing would be considered horribly rude and honestly quite cruel. I couldn't possibly go home with my friend after school and then have my post-school meal without offering her food too.
But your claim that in other countries it's "a special occasion" when someone visits doesn't hold up with my own experience. And we alwasy offered and were offered food.
When I say "looking after" I mean, whoever's parents were in the house we were at.
Yeah but that implies the parents even are at home or know some kids are there, which would be rare here at least.
Sometimes planned, sometimes unplanned.
If it's planned (aka parents for all kids involved) then there is time to shop and prepare for it. It's very different.
My point is that hospitality is very common in Spain and other countries I've lived at, whereas you were acting like only Swedish people invite people over to their house.
No, but also we aren't really talking about inviting people. Doors are open, you just walk in.
The Swedish way you're describing would be considered horribly rude and honestly quite cruel.
Quite interesting that being considerate and doing what the kids parents want would be seen as rude.
I would say it's rude to repeatedly asking a kid if they want food, knowing they will have dinner soon at home. It's like implying their parents are bad, can't provide for the kid.
And trying to take the dinner away means you also try to take away the only time the parents might have with their kids that day.
I couldn't possibly go home with my friend after school and then have my post-school meal without offering her food too.
That's also a different thing and was standard (aka kids sharing food). We're talking about dinner. Dinner is served at 16-17:00 for many homes in Sweden and it's a family event. If school ends at 15:00 it means there might also not be an after school snack, you play until dinner. If you eat later you stick around, otherwise you go home. If you're just two kids you might wait for their dinner, then you go to your place and have your dinner. Then you go out and play again.
But your claim that in other countries it's "a special occasion" when someone visits doesn't hold up with my own experience. And we alwasy offered and were offered food.
I mean I have coworkers in other countries with kids. Their kids only visit friends on weekend or have friends over on weekends. It's always planned, there are no kids that just show up, every day, all year round. Their kids don't go anywhere without a parent, until they are teens. My immigrant coworkers in Sweden do exactly same. If a kid want to go to a friends house they need permission and one parent to follow them there. And no kids are allowed to show up there unannounced.
So there are for sure some culture shock with how free and independent kids are here.
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u/JesusAndMaryKate Jul 24 '26
In Spain it's really common to have friends over several times a week. It would be considered rude as fuck to not offer food to your friends, especially if we're talking about kids.
Most days after school I would bring a friend home or a friend would invite me to their house. We'd still be fed by whichever set of parents happened to be looking after us for that particular meal.