“Should your kids see you naked?”
That’s the question posed in a headline over a Yahoo article that wonders if there is a certain age — say, 6 through 11 — when children should not be seeing their parents naked.
The article is not about nudism/naturism. Instead, it picks up on a CNN piece “that referenced (two) studies about the impact of parental nudity on kids.”
One of the Yahoo report’s conclusions comes from Dr. Alan Kazdin. Says the article: All things considered, there is no one guideline as to what you should do and at what age, Dr. Alan Kazdin, director of the Yale Parenting Center tells Yahoo Parenting, “Culture makes a huge difference. Religion makes a huge difference as do parents’ own individual attitudes about the body.”
I don’t know if the studies mentioned nudism/naturism, but it seems to me that the researchers may have gotten more insight on the issue if they had spoken to some naturism families.
So, to take this a step further: I know some parents who bring their toddlers to social nudism swims, but I wonder if there is an age when those parents will stop bringing them.
Is there an age — i.e. early teens as hormones start raging — when children shouldn’t be seeing their parents naked and shouldn’t be hanging out in social nudism settings.
If you are a naturist with a teenage daughter, would you allow her to attend social family nudism events where teenage boys are present? And vice versa?
What say you on the issue, from a nudism/naturism perspective?
— Jillian
Jillian Page 
my daughter clearly let me know when she was no longer comfortable in nudist settings. And, I listened.
The teenage years are chaotic. There may be erratic acceptance from time to time.
Sons or daughters need to be heard
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We began raising our daughters as nudists from the beginning. At age 12, they became uncomfortable with it only because they had mentioned it to their friends and their friends began teasing them. 20 years + later, they both, along with one SIL and 4 of our grandchildren went on a nude vacation with us … they all loved it and talk about that trip all the time.
We took the path, that when our girls felt uncomfortable with being nude all the time, they didn’t have to be. We talked, we explained our preference and they understood. We had boundaries set, open and honest conversations and respect for each other. I think parents, today, are far too paranoid about everything.
Our daughters grew up to be intelligent, responsible, successful and well adjusted adults, mothers, wives and professionals that still dabble in nudism to a limited extent, as do or grandkids.
Setting a specific age for seeing each other naked, in my opinion, is not healthy in a child/parent relationship. It’s like saying … at a certain age, we’ll stop talking with one another, knowing about one another, caring for one another. It sends a message that at a certain age … nudity becomes about sex and only sex and that is what nudists have tried to dispel for decades.
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It goes without saying that you are part of the Nudism/Naturism Advocacy. i say I would be more inclined to the Understanding Our Sexuality Advocacy. But that is about the same debate as to whether there is life after death. The jury is still out. What say yew |D
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I have met several nudist families during my visits to Cypress Cove, including some that are raising their children there. I have been very impressed by how “body-confident” those children are. I met a mom with a thirteen year-old daughter, and the daughter was the picture of “body-confidence”. She had learned to swim in one of the pools at Cypress Cove, so not only does she see her parents au naturel all the time, but she also sees a wide variety of other people au naturel very regularly. During what most people would be considered an “awkward time” for a young teen, she is very “body-confident” even though she doesn’t have a “perfect” body.
Young children who are raised in a nudist environment happily play au naturel as if they don’t have a care in the world, because they don’t. They are far safer there than at the textile public schools they attend. I believe that it is the parent’s attitudes that mold them into healthy, body-confident teens and adults, not what society would have them believe.
I can attest to the effects of body-negative upbringing, and they aren’t pretty. Gaining body-confidence has been a real struggle for me.
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I grew up seeing both my parents and grandparents, my dad’s uncles and several of my cousins nude all the time. They saw me nude almost as much as I saw them. I can’t think of a single time I felt uncomfortable seeing anyone nude or when they saw me… even during my teen years when things would happen for no other reason than the wind blew the right way. We were taught that it was natural and completely normal for it to happen at that age.
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Reblogged this on clothes free life.
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Reblogged this on swednaturist's Blog.
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I remember very well my first encounter with young people in a nudist/naturist setting. I was at a resort which is known for being family-friendly, but I was there because it’s the largest resort in the region and this was my first time at a full-fledged resort. These teenagers, a small group probably aged 14-16 years, were just coming back from town and they were still fully dressed, they came through the large room in the clubhouse which was empty except for me. Instinctively I felt that maybe I should use my towel to cover-up as they walked in my direction, but as they walked passed they all just said, “hi,” and kept on their way. I then realized, a little sheepishly, I was the only one self-conscious about the situation.
Later, I was talking with one of their mothers who said that their family had been coming to the resort since their son and daughter were 6 or 7 years old, they are regular members and the kids are very relaxed about being there, it’s just their natural surroundings. Beyond that, she said they are so much better adjusted than most of their classmates at this time, in their teens, when many young people are so awkward and ill at ease with themselves and others their age. It seems that being comfortable with nudity takes away a lot of the angst of the teen years, beginning dating, and all that. Now, that’s something that a lot more young people sure could benefit from, and lots of us well past teen years wish we’d had such a benefit back then, for sure.
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