Today’s word of the day is a compound made up of two separate nouns. The first part of the word, maskros, translates literally as “worm rose” and is the Swedish word for dandelion. The second element, barn, is the Swedish word for child.

So, what is a maskrosbarn or “dandelion child”? The term refers to a child who has a challenging or unstable home life or childhood, but who thrives despite this, in the same way that dandelions can grow through tarmac and thrive in difficult conditions.

You may have heard the term before – there is a charity with the same name which works with maskrosbarn who may be the children of parents with addiction problems, experience violence at home or who may suffer from a mental illness.

According to the Maskrosbarn charity, 500,000 children in Sweden have a parent with an addiction problem or mental illness which puts them at risk, or a parent who physically abuses them. The charity provides support to 100 children and young people per week, such as by providing them with counselling, coaching programmes or opportunities to meet others in the same position.

One former maskrosbarn is actor and comedian Morgan Alling, who had a difficult childhood spent in multiple foster homes where he was bullied and subject to physical abuse, until, ultimately, he was placed with a foster father who accepted him and provided an environment where he could thrive.

Alling has since written a biography titled Kriget är slut (The War is Over) about a his experience of being a maskrosbarn and how discovering his love for theatre paved the way for his future success.

Example sentences:

Han är ett äkta maskrosbarn, han hade en otroligt svår uppväxt men har klarat sig trots allt.

He’s a true dandelion child, he had an extremely difficult childhood but has done well for himself despite everything.

Min skola hade en föreläsning från Maskrosbarn i dag, de pratade om vem man kan prata med när man inte mår bra.

Maskrosbarn held a lecture at my school today, they spoke about who you can talk to if you’re not doing well.

Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is now available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Bokus or Adlibris.

If you know a child or young person who is struggling and needs help, they can contact Maskrosbarn at maskrosbarn.org. If you are interested in donating to Maskrosbarn to support their efforts, you can do so here.