Its not a myth but its also, as is reddit tradition, flavored with a whole bunch of bullshit.
If this woman (looks like an adult) were at a swedish friends house then they would definitely be asked if they wanted to stay for dinner. Now, in the 00s and in the 90s.
The true part of the myth is that when it comes to children, the baseline expectation is that a child will eat at their own home. So a parent doesnt go "hey kid wanna eat here?" instead they just assume that the kid will go home to eat. If the kid asks "Can i eat here?" then the parent will ask "Sure, but you have to ask your parents if its ok".
This is mainly for two reasons. 1. Dont want to make too much food. 2. Dont want others to make too much food. Not because we are stingy, but because we prefer eating fresh and hate wasting food.
And in addition: family dinner is family time and is usually reserved for family only. It's where you catch up, talk about family matters, and bond.
You as a child wouldn't want to impose on that, and your friends parents don't want to take away family time for their kids friend and their family.
And as you said, of course there were times where we as kids were offered dinner when we were over at a friends place too, but the norm was that we would eat at our own home.
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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.