What is the importance of IKEA in the nonfiction book, Things My Son Needs to Know About the World?

IKEA, the Swedish furniture store, acts as the setting for the life lessons contained in the essay, "What you need to know about IKEA." Backman advises his son not to stray from the arrows painted on the floor to guide people through the aisles, lest he deal with the aggressive customers that frequent the store. In addition to this humorous piece of advice, he explains to his son that any argument in IKEA is not really about IKEA, but rather that the store provides an excuse to bring up other issues. In this way, Backman uses IKEA as an example of a situation in which his son must pick his battles. Despite the negativity surrounding IKEA, Backman claims that some of his best days were spent at the store, such as the day he and his wife furnished their first home together.