introducing nudism to friends/family

[NUDEGARDENER]

I have been a naturist for over 20 years. I have been in a relationship for 7 years. My fiance knows I am a naturist, her two children are aware of it as well. I recently moved to Florida and have the opportunity to make my backyard private enough to sunbathe and generally be nude whenever I please. The problem is that her children are adolescents and at that awkward age when sexuality and nudity seem to conjure the same images. On the other hand our daughter who is a year-and-a-half old would love to be naked with daddy in the yard. Any suggestions out there to promote acceptance of the teenagers to my lifestyle, or should I wait the 4 or 5 years for them to go off to college before I return to nature? [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif[/img]

[NUDEGARDENER]

I have been a naturist for over 20 years. I have been in a relationship for 7 years. My fiance knows I am a naturist, her two children are aware of it as well. I recently moved to Florida and have the opportunity to make my backyard private enough to sunbathe and generally be nude whenever I please. The problem is that her children are adolescents and at that awkward age when sexuality and nudity seem to conjure the same images. On the other hand our daughter who is a year-and-a-half old would love to be naked with daddy in the yard. Any suggestions out there to promote acceptance of the teenagers to my lifestyle, or should I wait the 4 or 5 years for them to go off to college before I return to nature? [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif[/img]

[Rik]

Nudegardener,
You don't say what your fiancee and her kids think about you being a naturist. Are they receptive, hostile or ambivalent? Have they ever seen you naked?

As they're not your kids it would be appropriate to talk to their mother first with a view to broaching the subject with the kids. I suspect you may have potential difficulties with the kids' father unless you and your fiancee are really sure of your ground.

If she says "no way" then forget about it for a while. If she says "ok" then she and you need to talk to the kids and perhaps come to an arrangement which benefits you all. You may swing it by saying that you'll only do it when they're not around and you may also want to take into consideration what happens if they want to invite friends around to the house. My view would be "if you or your friends turn up unexpectedly I'll get dressed - it's not a big deal".

Good luck and don't forget to let us know how you get on.

[naked bob]

I have had a similar situation. When my wife and I married she already had kids, their father was deceased though. I was around them from an early age so that they came to think of me as their father not their step-father. As preteens they would go with me to the nude beaches and clubs in the area. But once they began to enter puberty they became uncomfortable with their own bodies and later they were uncomfortable viewing either myself or my wife nude as we sometimes were around the house. Eventually we came to a sort of understanding. I do go out in my private backyard nude with my wife however the downstairs of the house is generally a clothed area for their comfort.Upstairs is very much clothing optional just makes sense what with showering and getting ready for work and all. Teen years are difficult for everyone and everyone around the teen as well. It just requires a lot of patience and communication. Good luck with your situation.

[ March 14, 2002: Message edited by: naked bob ]

[ March 14, 2002: Message edited by: naked bob ]

[Capt. Ed]

lol its the opposite for me, im 15 and just finished with puberty (i think) and i wanna be a nudist... i wonder if thats normal... [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif[/img]

[NudeTrain]

Capt. Ed, who decides what is normal? Don't worry about conforming to society, just do whats comfortable for you.

[Trailscout]

Naked Bob,
Just curious, when your kids were pre-teens, was the whole family nude most of the time at home or only nude at the resorts?

I have often wondered what makes the difference between nudist-raised kids that don't go "textile" in their teen years vs. those that do.

I was raised with occasional household nudity, but I still developed body shame and remained textile for a long time. I am now active in social nudity and nude at home (except for our short Georgia winters).

[TXK NUDE]

My question is...why would teens who HAVE been raised nudists suddenly WANT to wear clothes when they don't have to? At the club we frequent, the owners teen children only go nude in the pool or hot tub, but they quickly redress after getting out. Weird, huh?

[Trailscout]

Why do teens deviate from any aspect of their upbringing?
My guesses: if family nudity is only at resorts, but not continuous in the household, it doesn't firmly enough assert nudity as the norm in their lifestyle.

Peer pressure - teens in the typical suburban nuclear family emulate their peers much more than in rural extended families, particularly in groups such as the Amish, hippie commune dwellers, or for that matter, old style nudist families.

Television and other media counteract nudist values offering budding teens a highly sexually charged image of nudity at the very time that they experience their first sexual urges. Not Good! I have friends who don't own a television for reasons such as this.

The increasing acceptance of risque negligee or toga parties within the ranks of nudist camps. Worse, some resorts even look the other way at swingers in their midst. Why wouldn't a teen suspect that there might be some hidden sexual connotations to their nudity?