The Swedish Tradition of Not Feeding Other People's Children

A few days ago, on Ask Reddit, a user asked "What is the weirdest thing you had to do at someone else’s house because of their culture/religion?"

Wowimatard shared a strange experience from Sweden:

I remember going to my swedish friends house.

And while we were playing in his room, his mom yelled that dinner was ready. And check this. He told me to WAIT in his room while they ate.

Other users shared that this is an unusual, but not unknown practice in Sweden. When children visit the homes of other children, there's no expectation that the guest children will be fed.

Why? The Washington Post consulted a variety of experts on Swedish culture, including the food historian Richard Tellström at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Tellström explained that in the past, feeding someone else's children would be considered an insult:

“Eating was something that you did at home,” he says. “You didn’t feed other people’s children — that would have been considered a sort of intrusion in another family’s life, with the subtext of ‘You can’t feed your children properly, so I will feed them.’”

Tellström speculates that this now fading tradition was likely due to the atomistic development of families in rural Sweden. Dining with people other than your immediate family was unusual and thus providing food hospitality outside of the family would not be customary.

-via Marginal Revolution | Photo: Vitold Muratov


Newest 2
Newest 2 Comments

I remember being at friends house as a kid, and sometimes they'd let you eat with them and sometimes not. And these were kids whose parents (i know for a fact) had as much money as my parents and sometimes much more. I think for a lot of parents it's not so much a question of Lack, as it is a question of culture/mindset in the household. Also how they felt about you (the friend of their child). I was always a smart a$$ kid, so I know for a fact not all the parents were thrilled to feed me. It always worked out tho, because I was a kid who would get homesick very fast and come running back home.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
The does point to a lack of poverty in Sweden. I, and my parents before me, would always feed any kids who were there because they often had little food at home. This sometimes left my dad a bit peeved, because we barely had enough to go around ourselves.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Login to comment.




Email This Post to a Friend
"The Swedish Tradition of Not Feeding Other People's Children"

Separate multiple emails with a comma. Limit 5.

 

Success! Your email has been sent!

close window
X

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

I agree
 
Learn More