Kids and nudists

Gary Naturist · #1 12-13-2003, 02:37 AM

Many people, even some nudists, make a distinction between being nude in public when only adults are present and when kids are also present.

Is there really some reason to protect kids from seeing a naked, live person? Will the kid even notice? Might the kid be damaged psychologically and if so, why? Need there be a distinction between same sex and opposite sex? Is this an issue more relative to 6 year olds or for 11 year olds?

Gary Naturist · #2 12-13-2003, 02:37 AM

Many people, even some nudists, make a distinction between being nude in public when only adults are present and when kids are also present.

Is there really some reason to protect kids from seeing a naked, live person? Will the kid even notice? Might the kid be damaged psychologically and if so, why? Need there be a distinction between same sex and opposite sex? Is this an issue more relative to 6 year olds or for 11 year olds?

#3 12-13-2003, 03:16 AM

"Is there really some reason to protect kids from seeing a naked, live person?"

It should be left upto parents to decide whether or not they bring up their own children to see adult nudity.

"Will the kid even notice?"

Most certainly!

"Might the kid be damaged psychologically and if so, why?"

Not necessarily. But it might undermine the efforts of the parents to bring up the child as they see fit and with their own values.

"Need there be a distinction between same sex and opposite sex? Is this an issue more relative to 6 year olds or for 11 year olds?"

Depends how the kids are brought up. Different parents - different attitudes.

Stu

nudeM · #4 12-13-2003, 03:42 AM

I believe that the younger the kids are, the better off they are viewing adults of both sexes. At first, when I went nude in front of our four year old grandson, he looked and laughed at "papas wee wee". Now, I go nude in front of him and nothing is said. My nudity doesn't even phase him. He mainly sees me in the morning hours, when I usually don't wear anything. He'll ask me for a drink, which I get him and he turns on the morning cartoons. Being nude is no big deal. He has not seen any nude females since he was very small (when mama or grandma is in the bathroom), so I'm not sure about viewing females. I'm sure the situation will basically remain the same.

My older son (15 years old) was a little different, but not much. When he saw dad naked at first, sure he was

, but has since realized that dad likes to be nude at times. He has helped me in the back yard, while I was nude, and he helped out quite a bit. He usually doesn't see me nude as much, but some evenings, after a workout of a hard days work, I'll be nude to cool off for awhile.

I think the kids will grow up less likely to be curious about the human body, if they are around nude parents, than if they were raised around textiled parents, such as I was. Being raised around textiles, kids are more prone to "seek" adult magazines for the mere pleasure of viewing nude people. Just my opinion.

NudeAl · #5 12-13-2003, 07:08 AM

I've actually seen this happen, sort of, once.

I was at a clothing optional hotspring which is very popular. Lots of nudes mostly younger crowd as you had to hike into the place about 2 or 3 miles. Anyway I used to take my kids with me all the time when they were younger and we had a group of young adults in an ajacent pool. One of the girls, when me and the kids came by, actually felt embaressed and tried to cover up. I told her it was no big deal they have seen plenty of naked people before. Funny how we react sometimes.

The only time I can see myself being naked in front of someone elses kid is if they are family members or they are also nudists. In either case it would probably be okay. When in doubt check with the parents. This would also have to be a social setting with others around just wouldn't feel right other wise.

Kari P · #6 12-13-2003, 12:13 PM

Stu,

"It should be left upto parents to decide whether or not they bring up their own children to see adult nudity."

Your principle doesn't work in every culture. It may work in your country but not here in Finland. Of course, this comes from our sauna habits. A thing that seems to be on your side is that it isn't unavoidable for a kid to never see a naked adult of the opposite sex, other than a family member. But the fact that virtually every Finnish child has seen his/her both parents naked means that they already know what naked people look like. Thus there is no logical reason to "protect" children from seeing non-sexual adult nudity.

"it might undermine the efforts of the parents to bring up the child as they see fit and with their own values."

There are millions of other things that can undermine the efforts of the parents to bring up their children with their values. We live in a pluralistic society where it is impossible to the parents to hinder their children from seeing that not everyone in the world, in the country or even in the neighborhood think and believe the same way about everything. An important part of upbringing is to explain this and to teach tolerance of different people, different values and different lifestyles.

Kari P

**Bob S.** · #7 12-13-2003, 02:24 PM

"Might the kid be damaged psychologically and if so, why?"

Psychological damage is done when parents tell their children that they should avoid nudity at all costs. The damage is done if they see nudity and it causes a problem. Their parents have caused the psychological damage, not the child's viewing of nudity. Children are extremely adaptable creatures. They should be able to see virtually anything and not be traumatized by it.

The child will notice, but how long will they let it affect them? If they are being overly curious about the naked body, that is a great time to teach them about the anatomical differences between boys and girls, teach them about your beliefs in privacy, etc. This is only an issue for non-nudist children. Even children who are raised in homes where nudity is matter-of-fact are unaffected when they encounter nudity out in public.

"But it might undermine the efforts of the parents to bring up the child as they see fit and with their own values."

I agree with Kari's position on this. Your beleifs are your beleifs. You can teach them to your children but you can't protect them from others who have opposing beliefs. To do so is a form of psychological harm. Isolationism of children is seen as eccentric behaviour. You can't protect your children from Christians. What if they were to be converted? Egads! Sending them to school, they might learn of different attitudes other than yours. You could send your daughter to her best friend's house where her father, not realizing they have any guests, could come into his daughter's room naked.

Arguments such as that usually are seen from those who do not have strong beliefs in their own values. When I have my own child, I would only get upset if an adult tried to argue his or her own belief system to her. But if she just witnessed something that went against my own belief or value system, that would be the time to reinforce our own beliefs.

Bob S.

florida-david · #8 12-13-2003, 05:44 PM

there is absolutely no reason that a child seeing a naked body should be viewed as shocking, unless the kids parents have raised the kid incorrectly. a naked human body is no different than seeing a naked dog in someone's yard or a monkey at the zoo. we are all animals, and our natural state is naked.

with that said, i would not go naked in front of any child unless it was an accident or the parents new about it. case in point, i was changing in my bedroom and my 7 yr. old son and a friend ran in the room and saw me naked. no biggy, i just explained i was getting dressed and answered my son's question (he is very used to me being naked). no biggie, i did not run and hide, i just was naked and it was no big deal. since the friend is used to seeing my son naked, he was not

, he just turned around and walked to the bedroom door to give me some privacy.

maybe i should move to finland where people are not so freaky abouot their naked body. i just do not see what the big deal is??

Nude in the North · #9 12-13-2003, 06:36 PM

When one of my Sisters' in Law and her Daughter unexpectedly came over and "Caught" me nude , there was no Earth shaking problem. I was the one that was startled, because I didn't know they were in the house untill I walked into the kitchen.
All they did was giggle a little.

I sliped into some shorts and joined them again in the kitchen.
I started to "explain" why I was nude, but they said " Don't worry about it. It's ok. "

They both seemed more ammused than "Shocked".
My SIL knows I'm a nudist, but I doubt she had told my niece before they came over that I might be nude when they get here.

Maybe I should have asked if it would be ok to remain nude while they were here.
Next chance I get, I'm going to talk to my SIL to find out.

Steve

Gary Naturist · #10 12-14-2003, 02:28 AM

Stu said: It should be left upto parents to decide whether or not they bring up their own children to see adult nudity.

Not necessarily. Would you say the same if the parents wanted to pass on their hatred of blacks, gays, Jews, Arabs or their rejection of people with physical disabilities?

A parent's right to inculcate (first time ever for that word) their own values in their kids is not absolute. When necessary, society steps in to override what some people, parents included, espouse.

At some point, society will decide that it's important for people to have healthier attitudes about the human body, their own and others. As part of this educational process, we'll be taught to have a more natural and comfortable attitude towards the human body and all of its 2000 parts.

Gary