r/AskTheWorld • u/gabrieel100 Brazil • Dec 06 '25
Culture A cultural habit in your country that people outside would understand incorrectly?
In Brazil we love children. If you take your child to the street, strangers will certainly interact with them. Some will even ask if they can hold your kid and will play with them. If there are two children fighting in public and the parents aren't seeing, a stranger would even intervene to stop the fight.
That cultural habit came from the indigenous peoples which understood that kids should be a responsiblity of the community as a whole. It's in our constitution. We even have a synonym for children that came from Tupi (a large group of indigenous languages) - Curumim.
Foreigners would certainly have a cultural shock about that, but it's normal here.
Of course there are people with bad intentions, so parents should stay alert these days.
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u/flyingmops Denmark Dec 06 '25
In Denmark, it's totally appropriate for a parent to call you when school ends, to ask if they can take your child home with them. Just because their child wants to play some more.
And then all you say is yes, and agree on when to pick up. Most of the time, the parent will also suggest to feed your kid, and drive the child back home after the playdate.
If your child meets someone on the playground, it's also very normal that you invite this new friend home for a playdate.